A Lesson in Mortality
by LokisonStarchilde
Summary: When Loki screws up, it seems to always backfire into his face. This time in a very literal sense, and he now finds himself a mortal man in the care of the Avengers. Among them Loki learns a lot about humility and...love? TONY/LOKI
1. Chapter 1

SOOO, I was just chilling, reading some Tony/Loki slashes, while listening to Bjork's Homogenic album, more specifically the song "5 Years" when this idea just popped in my head! I know I should be working on XENO, and I am, very slowly, but I just love Tony/Loki. OH, and just a heads up, I'm basing PART of this story around the Norse/European descriptions of Loki, more specifically about him having ginger hair instead of black hair. :3 You'll see. And this WILL be an Tony/Loki slash, with sex! Eventually. ENJOY! Read and review? DANKE!

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Marvel.

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><p>T'was a day like any other, or close enough to it when you're the God of Mischief. Loki hadn't busied himself with anything in particular, instead decided on a simple walk through Central Park. Of course, mischief and mayhem follow him at all times, so who's to say he wasn't responsible for the occasional ant ruined picnic or rabid squirrel attack. He just smirked to himself. He had donned a simple outfit of black jeans and a forest green sweater, instead of the usual armor, in an effort to be inconspicuous among the populace at the park. He wasn't in a world dominating mood. One could say he was just having a nice day. But as everyone knows, those never last. As always, it was sudden screaming and running that caught his attention, and he could admit he was a little let down that he wasn't the cause. While others ran away from the chaos, Loki casually walked toward it. He came to see some sort of giant lizard beast running about, causing plenty of collateral damages. He rolled his eyes at the Avengers and their attempts to calm the creature down. There was another man with them that he hadn't seen before, and BOY was he strange looking. He floated about, dressed in gold and blue with a big red and gold cape billowing behind him. He made signs with his hands and caused things here and there to happen. Magic? Well now, that's interesting, another mortal who learned to wield magic. Before now, Victor was the only one Loki had known of. So who was this guy? It appeared that the Avengers were trying to use magic to stop this beast. Well it wasn't really working. Big surprise. A flick of Loki's wrist and he was back in his armor, helmet and all. He wanted to see what this strange, old man could do, so he stepped out into the open, letting them all see him.<p>

"WELL, look at THIS. Why am I *NOT* surprised?" Iron Man called out, voice laced with aggravated sarcasm, and gestured at Loki.

Loki only smirked. Of course, now they would think he's responsible for the lizard-thing, unless they already knew where it came from. Thor landed on the ground in front of him, going completely oblivious to everything else happening around him. Typical.

"Brother." His voice was soft, but obviously annoyed. "What are you doing here?"

Loki rolled his eyes again, sighing heavily. "Whatever. I. Want. Thor." He defiantly tired of these confrontations, so he simply teleported past Thor to stand in front of the strange, old man and smiled at him, feigning innocence.

"And WHO might you be?" Loki chided, pointing at him. The man smiled in return,

"Why, I am Doctor Strange! Sorcerer extraordinaire!" He answered, FAR too enthusiastically.

Dr. Strange? Loki chuckled to himself. Well THAT was a well-placed name.

"Sorcerer you say? So am I." He grinned wickedly and took a step back, pulling magic into his hands.

Dr. Strange saw this and jumped away, into the air, floating effortlessly. Green fire pooled in Loki's hands, and he glared at the other man. He did not intend to let this man escape him and he wanted to be the ONLY sorcerer on this planet. Not including Victor of course, since he was a villainy ally. Dr. Strange doesn't seem at all frightened of Loki, and that was infuriating, he'll defiantly have to change that. Loki threw the spell at him with all the force of Thor's flying hammer. But despite his best efforts, did not see coming what happened next. Strange created a magical mirror in front of him that deflected Loki's spell, and sent it hurling back at him; it happened so fast Loki didn't have the chance to react; he just clenched his eyes shut in surprise. He felt the green magic hit him and disperse. After a minute he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding; nothing seemed to have happened. He looked at his hands and around himself, but everything looked the same. He then glared fiercely at Strange, he might have even growled. Loki attempted to pull another spell into his hands, something far worse, but it didn't feel right. That's when his previous spell started taking effect. He felt his power fading away, and watched as his skin turned icy blue for a moment, then back to pale porcelain. He heard a few gasps, and looked up to see all the Avengers looking rather shocked at him. Loki had to wonder why, because they all already knew he was a Jotun. His helmet suddenly slid down his face, and all his armor felt FAR too heavy. He pulled the helmet off and looked at himself in the polished metal. If he had any color in his face, it drained away then. His eyes were still green; although now a very dull green, but what frightened him was that his once beautiful, raven black hair was now bright orange, frizzy curls. The godly glow that normally lingered on his and Thor's skin was now gone from him, leaving his skin pale AND dull.

"Oh no…" He whispered to no one in particular. Tony Stark let out a loud cackle, clutching his sides.

"You turned your hair orange?" He continued to laugh. Loki glared at him. Thor looked thoroughly confused,

"Brother, if that was your intentions, I think you've lost your touch." He said. Dr. Strange came to stand beside Thor,

"I'm pretty sure that was *not* his intentions, my friend. He was trying to take my power from me, but as you saw it back fired unto him, and now he is mortal. Am I right, Loki?"

Loki refused to acknowledge any of them. He had removed all his armor, because he could hardly move in the weight, and now only wore his black pants, under tunic, and boots. Thor approached him,

"Is that what has happened?" Loki thought he heard genuine concern in Thor's voice, but chose to ignore it.

Thor reached out and brushed some fiery curls from Loki's brow. Loki threw his fist out, and it connected with Thor's jaw. Thor didn't even flinch, and everyone heard the tell-tale snap of the bones in Loki's hand. He screamed, yanking his hand from Thor and cradling it in his uninjured hand. Thor looked horrified.

"WELL, that answers THAT question." Iron Man stated, nonchalantly.

Loki was trying as hard as he could not to cry, but it'd been a long time since he'd felt pain like that. Thor was trying to comfort him and look at his damaged hand, that was now dripping blood unto the grass, but Loki continued to shove him away. Although his shoving didn't actually MOVE Thor, Thor got the hint and stopped trying to help. Dr. Strange stepped forward,

"Here. Let me." He offered his hand, a sweet smile on his face. Loki glared for quite a while, but when it seemed the other man wasn't going to back off he reluctantly put out his bleeding hand. Strange lightly touched Loki's hand, a soft glow emitted from the Dr.'s fingertips, a second later all the pain was gone and Loki could move his hand again. Instead of thanking the man, Loki attacked him, throwing his whole body upon him.

"This is YOUR fault!" He screamed, all self-control gone, and began punching Strange in a rage.

"I might not be able to hit Thor, but I can certainly hit YOU!" He continued, but by now Thor had grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him off the ground.

"Brother, please." Thor was saying, as he placed Loki down very gently, "Can't you just…turn it off?" He asked. Loki scoffed,

"I am MORTAL, Thor! I have NOTHING! NO MAGIC! It's all gone! I cannot undo this because HE", Loki thrust a finger at Dr. Strange, "has rid me of my OWN POWER!"

"Well," Steve finally spoke, "Can you undo it with your magic?" He was addressing Dr. Strange. Strange only shrugged,

"It was done with Loki's magic, not my own. And if I understand correctly, Asgardian magic is far different then my own. I don't know if I can do anything."

Loki looked like he'd just sucked on a very bitter lemon,

"Well aren't *you* helpful?" he snarled. Tony was looking at Loki like he was a new, shiny car,

"Ya know, I never imagined you were a carrot top in your mortal life." He was now smirking.

Nick Fury chose that moment to show up with his troupe of agents.

"Where is it?" he asked the group. Tony was the first to look at the one-eyed man,

"Where's what?" he said, and Steve gave out a gasp, slapping himself in the face,

"The Lizard!" he groaned, "We got so preoccupied by Loki here that we forgot about The Lizard, and now he's gone."

"Oh." Was Tony's bored response. Fury didn't seem to care much, but he cocked an eyebrow,

"Loki?"

"Yeah," Steve pointed at Loki, "He tried to fight Dr. Strange, but got his spell thrown back at him, and now he's human." Steve shrugged, with a rather confused look on his face, obviously not know what to do with this whole situation. Fury was scrutinizing Loki now,

"Really?" He glanced at his agents, then back at Loki, "Arrest him." He ordered.

Loki flinched, completely ready to bolt into the forest, but not sure just how far his now human endurance would take him. To his surprised gratitude, Thor stepped in front of him, blocking the S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

"I do not think so." He bellowed, "In feel that in his weakened state Loki should be left to my care. At least till we find a way to reverse this accident." Thor was all authority now.

"Weakened…state….?" Loki mumbled angrily to himself. Did he just call me weak?

"And I feel that I don't care." Nick said casually, "This looks like an opportune time to rid the world of a pest, and I'm gonna seize that opportunity."

"Pest?" Loki snarled,incredulous, eyebrows twitching. He hadn't realized how nonthreatening Midgard had come to see him as. He planned to change that as soon as he got his powers back.

"I don't know, Nick. Loki's pretty harmless now. Why not just let him chill with us? We'll keep a good eye on him, and it'll make Thor happy." Tony offered with a shrug.

Thor gave a huge smile and Nick sighed, looking especially uninterested.

"Fine. But you'll all be held responsible for him." Nick turned and left with all his agents.

Thor spun around to smile grandly at Loki and was about to sweep him into a crushing hug when he remembered how he'd hurt Loki's hand earlier. He just dropped his arms awkwardly and gave Loki a sad look. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Well I guess you can shack up with Thor, since you guys are all brotherly and stuff." Tony waved his hand around in the air, like the topic was completely unimportant. Loki laughed humorlessly,

"What in Helheim makes you think I'm staying with any of you?" He began attempting to collect his armor and walk away. Thor frowned deeply.

"UM, the fact that I just told Fury that that's what you're gonna do AND because you don't have a choice. Who else is gonna help you? Dr. Doom? I don't think so." Tony smirked again.

Loki really hated this whole situation; first because he was mortal, and second because that arrogant ass Tony Stark was actually right. He sighed, defeated, and then shoved his armor into Thor's arms.

"Carry this." He ordered and walked toward the Quinjet that was park on the grass, a few feet behind the Avengers. Thor's victorious grin returned as he followed Loki.


	2. Chapter 2

WOW! I can't believe how many people added this to their favorites! I thought I was a terrible writer! LOL. I was merely doing this for personal amusement, but since so many of you want me to continue so much, I SHALL. Thank you all.

BTW…. this chapter actually got sort of….ridiculous? I think I was running out of inspiration at some point, or maybe I was just really tired. Sorry.

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><p>To say that the flight back to Avengers Mansion was awkward would be a huge understatement. Loki was stuck sitting between Hawkeye and Captain America, both of which would not stop staring at his new hair. Captain "Friendly and Righteous" made several efforts to start a conversation with Loki, but Loki only responded with a dead-pan look of absolute boredom. And then there was Tony. Loki believed that Tony Stark had to be the most infuriating, crude, pig-of-a-man that he'd ever know; and that's quite the title considering all the years Loki spent with Thor.<p>

"Sooo," the Iron Man was saying, "Is ALL your hair orange now?" he asked with a very raunchy grin on his face, and a waggle of his eyebrows. Loki had probably rolled his eyes more today than ever before.

"Oh yes, as I recall, you have *thing* for red-heads." Loki retorted. Clint did his best to stifle a giggle.

"Or maybe I just have a thing for fiery-red pubes." Tony shrugged, but was still wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Clint didn't bother to cover his laugh now.

"Is that why the only women who hang around you have red hair?" Loki glanced in Natasha's direction. She didn't seem to be paying them any attention. But Clint looked offended,

"HEY. That's MY fiery red-head!" he stated while pointing at himself.

"Is she really? How can you be sure that Tony hasn't tasted her fiery pubes?" Loki decided he could be just as crude as Tony, and would. Clint's mouth dropped open then he glared fully at Tony.

Tony threw his hands up in defense,

"WHAT? Are you nuts? Natasha would rather de-bowel me than let me touch her." He sounded a little hysteric.

Clint nodded in agreement; he felt he knew Natasha well enough to believe Tony. Loki was let down, he had wanted to see Tony get shot with an arrow, now he'd have to try something else. Steve suddenly sighed,

"Can we talk about something else?" There was a slight blush on the mans' face; obviously Mr. Goodie-Two-Shoes didn't talk about sex much. Loki decided to have fun with that,

"Jealous, Steven? Well we can talk about your women, if it'll make you feel better. What kind of women do you like?" He turned in his chair to face Steve.

"Uh…well, I…NO, that's not what I meant." He was stuttering, now that he'd been put in the spot, "I don't want to talk about women at all!" He finished.

Loki raised his eyebrows, doing his best to look interested,

"Oh? No women? Men then?" he gave a sly grin. Steve's whole face turned red, all the way down his neck and into his shirt. Loki chuckled,

"So it is men. And what kind of men do you like? Just don't say Tony Stark, please." Loki made sure to say Tony's name with no emotion and Tony let out a gasp, putting on a farce of being offended.

Before Steve had a chance to say anything Bruce landed the jet, and Steve made his escape. Tony laughed,

"Why ya gotta tease the poor man? Don't you know he's too innocent for these kinds of conversations?" He was walking along side Loki as they went into the house. Loki shrugged,

"I have to entertain myself somehow."

"Well, they have invented things for that, ya know. It's called TV, or video games. Or hell, painting, if you want! Point being, there are a lot of things to "entertain yourself" with that don't involve putting others in misery and pa…"

Loki pretended to yawn immensely, "Bored now." And with that he darted around a corner and was gone. Tony sighed and went to the kitchen for some coffee.

Loki spent some time going through every room in the mansion, including all the bedrooms. He easily identified which room belonged to which superhero simply by the contents of said room. When he came across Tony's he lingered a little longer, making sure to rummage through Tony's belongings and mess with anything that he could. He found a bottle of vinegar under Tony's bathroom sink -why it was there he didn't care to know- but he filled a small plastic cup with it and placed Tony's toothbrush, head down, into the cup and then left it by the sink. He smiled to himself as he left the room. He finally entered Thor's room and immediately wanted to run away from it. Thor had obviously taken the time to personalize his room. The décor was almost exactly like his room back in Asgard, complete with plenty of gold, leather, and fur. Along with that, Loki found something that was slightly more disturbing; Thor had wooden shelves lining the wall to the right of the grand bed and upon these shelves were his and Loki's favorite toys from when they were children. Anything from little cloth warrior figures, to glass horses, and wooden swords were neatly sitting on the shelves. Why would he keep such things?, Loki wanted to ask Thor. He also wanted to smash every single, stupid, little memory that was offending him from upon said shelf. The bathroom door was suddenly thrown open, making Loki jump out of his skin, and Thor emerged from the steam while rubbing a towel through his golden hair. He glanced up, looking surprised, but relaxed when he saw that it was only Loki,

"Oh! Brother. I see you found our room." He was smiling, of course. Loki was a little bothered by how easily Thor had said "our" room.

"Yes. Well." He glanced around uncomfortably, "I was giving myself a tour of the mansion." He slightly looked Thor up and down –had he gotten taller?- then frowned at Thor's nakedness.

"Will you cover yourself with something?" he barked. Thor looked confused, but wrapped a towel around his waist nonetheless,

"Since when did me being naked bother you?" he wondered. Loki only huffed before swiftly leaving the room.

He headed into what had been designated as the living room and ran right into a young boy. He was defiantly the youngest member in the mansion -he couldn't have been older than 19- with brown hair and a cocky, mischievous look in his eyes.

"Whoah! Nice hair! What are you the Scottish version of Weird Al Yankovic?" The boy chuckled. Loki wrinkled his nose,

"Weird what?" He mumbled.

"Hey Peter!" Tony called from the couch, "Don't you know you're supposed to be nice to the needy?" He was smirking, full power.

"OH HA HA. You are SO funny." Loki put his sarcasm into high gear, making sure to look deathly bored. Tony just smiled triumphantly.

The boy, whose name is apparently Peter, just laughed before sitting down in front of the TV to play video games. Loki positioned himself on the armrest of the fine leather couch, as far from Tony as he could manage. After a few long awkward moments of silence, he decided to try casual conversation,

"SO I…"

"Is this wha…"

Tony and Loki looked at each other in shock at the fact that they had both started speaking at the same time.

"Sorry, my bad. Go ahead." Tony said. Loki _hmph_ed,

"I was going to ask; what do you people DO all day when you aren't saving the world?"

"Whatever we want." Tony shrugged, "I spend a lot of time in my workshop, or off at a meeting of some sort…"

"Or drunk." Steve interrupted as he entered the room and sat next to Tony on the couch. He had a bundle of important-looking papers in his hands that he was reading. Tony wrinkled his nose as Steve,

"Yeah, well….SO?" was his best defense. Steve shrugged one shoulder and continued reading, Peter laughed from his spot in front of the television.

Loki got up and lightly kicked Peter's leg, "And who ARE you? I mean, what hero do you play? I don't recognize you."

"Oh me?" Peter responded without looking away from the screen, "I'm Spider-Man. You probably don't recognize me cause I'm usually never out of costume."

"WELL, I didn't realize Tony Stark fancied himself little boys as well as red heads."

"HEY. I don't "fancy"…", Tony made quote marks in the air while rolling his eyes, "…little boys. Peter fits right in around here; he's a super genius like me and Bruce. Besides, I like older men." He waggled his eyebrows at Loki again. Loki ignored him.

Just then Clint and Bruce came into the room carrying plastic bags of something.

"Dinner!" Clint called out.

"Woo!" Tony hopped off the couch and went to help with the bags. Thor came running in,

"Pizza?" He sounded very hopeful.

"NO Thor, you've eaten pizza every day this week." Steve complained. Thor looked like a kicked puppy,

"I like pizza." He mumbled. Bruce laughed softly,

"It's KFC, buddy." He reassured Thor, and Thor grinned again. Loki came to peer at the food that was being placed on the coffee table in front of the couch,

"What is a "KFC"?" he inquired from Thor. Thor thrust a prepared plate at Loki,

"Chicken!" He grinned around a full mouth. Loki took the plate with caution, raising an eyebrow at the food upon it,

"Is this *actually* edible?" he whined. Tony groaned,

"Oh stop bitching, please! Or you can go hungry."

The room went comfortably silent as everyone sat down somewhere and focused on their food. Loki slowly picked at the chicken leg with his long, elegant fingers and Tony found himself staring at Loki while he was eating. Loki watched each of them individually for a little while; he thought it was strange to see them in such casual states. It made him feel very awkward, like he was watching them in their most private moments. He'd only ever seen them in costumes, fighting him or someone else. But in front of him now was a completely different scene. Of course Steve was still all professional in his military uniform. But Tony had on grey and blue plaid pajama pants, a black Metallica t-shirt, and bright blue, fuzzy slippers. Clint was wearing grey sweat pants and a maroon long sleeve shirt. Peter was in gym shorts, a hoodie, and socks. Even Thor just wore a loose pair of jeans and a red Stark Industries t-shirt, which actually looked to be a size too small. Yes, Loki certainly felt out of place here, and thought it was stranger still that everyone had been so kind to him so far. Maybe they felt pity for his current state of being. That thought made him instantly angry. Natasha passed through and grabbed a plate at some point, and even Pepper came by to shove a clipboard under Tony's nose and tell him to sign it. Loki wondered if it was really like this every day, it was so…normal. Thor suddenly stretched out in his spot upon the floor,

"Well I am retiring for the night, my friends." He rose to his feet and smiled at Loki, "Will you join me now or later?" Loki glanced at his barely touched plate,

"I'll come now." He got up and followed Thor, having lost any interest in his food anyways.

Upon entering the bedroom Thor quickly pulled off his shirt and jeans, tossing them wherever, and jumped unto the heavily furred bed. Despite the large size of the bed, Thor took up most of it. Loki scowled at him,

"There are TWO…" he put up fingers to emphasize, "…problems here." He waited until he was sure he had Thor's full attention, and then continued,

"One, you had better move over. And TWO, you are *NOT* sleeping naked while I am sharing this bed with you." Loki wasn't at all surprised to know that Thor didn't wear anything under his jeans. Thor made a puppy eyed look at him,

"But I hate wearing clothes in bed, Brother. Don't you? It's greatly uncomfortable." He whined. Loki sighed.

"NO. It's not happening." His voice told Thor that that was the end of the discussion.

Thor pouted for a few more moments before relenting and got up to find a pair of shorts to pull on. Loki looked at his own attire; he was still wearing his tunic and pants. He raised an eyebrow at Thor,

"Might I…borrow…something for the night? I have none of my clothes here." He explained. Thor just smiled,

"Of course, Brother! Help yourself to anything!" He gestured to the armoire.

Loki soon realized that no matter what he chose to wear it was likely to be too big, Thor did have much more muscle mass than him. Certainly enough he could not wear any of Thor pants, they all fell right off his slim hips. He groaned. Thor just chuckled at his plight,

"Perhaps Tony is more your size." He offered.

Loki figured it was his best bet, so he put his own pants back on and returned to the living room, only to see that Tony was no longer there. Peter was still seated in front of the TV with a controller in his hand,

"Um," Loki started, "Where could I find Tony?"

"Try his workshop." The boy answered, again without looking from the screen.

"And where is that?" Loki asked.

Peter pointed to a set of stairs behind Loki that led down into the ground. Loki slowly made his way down them to come to some sort of invisible wall. On the other side was Tony, hunched over a metal table wearing protective goggles on his face and using a torch on some piece of machinery. Loki tried knocking on the invisible door. Tony apparently didn't hear it, so he knocked louder and still got no response. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked thoroughly annoyed. A panel of numbers on the wall to Loki's right sudden lit up and a heavily accented, male voice spoke,

"May I help you sir?" it inquired. Loki wasn't sure how to react to this.

"Who are you?" He asked it.

"I am Jarvis. Is there something I can help you with?"

Loki wasn't sure if he liked this guys' tone, and considering he saw no one else in the workshop with Tony he was wondering where this man was speaking from.

"I wish to speak with Tony." He demanded.

"A moment please." The voice said.

A minute later Tony looked up from whatever he was doing, he pulled back his protective visor and smiled at Loki. He turned to the computer monitors at his left and said something, that's when Loki realized the room must be soundproofed, and a click came from the door before it swung open. The loud blare of heavy guitar riffs that suddenly assaulted Loki's ears proved his assumption that the room was soundproofed. He stepped inside and over to Tony's table.

"Jarvis kill the tunes." Tony said, and the music abruptly shut off. He looked back at Loki,

"What's up? Got lonely?" He winked. Loki just raised a brow at him,

"Who is Jarvis?" he really wanted to know where this man was.

"Oh he's my computer." Tony answered like it was the most normal thing ever.

"Right." So he's a man who doesn't actually exist, that isn't weird at all, Loki thought. "I actually came to ask you something else." He finally said. Tony was fiddling with his little project again,

"Yeah, I figured. Whadda ya need?" he didn't sound like he was really paying attention.

"Well I need some clothes to sleep in, but unfortunately nothing of Thor's will stay on me, they fall off. You are slimmer. So might I borrow something of yours'?" Loki felt weird asking this. Tony laughed,

"Sure. Nothing fuels my fantasies better than thinking about you sleeping in my pants."

"Is that ALL you ever think about?" Loki couldn't help but smile a little at Tony's stupid joke.

"Only when I'm around you, baby." He winked at Loki again, and made a show of biting his bottom lip. Loki shook his head, trying not to laugh,

"I'm leaving now. Good night Tony and thank you for the clothes." He turned on his heels and began walking away.

"Don't be a scared. I don't bite. Unless you want me to." Tony was continuing. Loki just rolled his eyes and waved a hand at Tony,

"Good NIGHT, Tony." He was already going up the stairs.

He easily decided on a simple pair of black sweatpants and a black Jack Daniel's t-shirt and was more than happy to finally lie down. This day had been long and strange. Most of him was hoping to wake up in the morning and see that this had all been a dream. He quickly drifted off while staring at the ceiling. Thor lying beside him was already snoring, but even in his sleep Thor couldn't keep his hands to himself and Loki was far too tired by then to protest when Thor wrapped a big, muscular arm around his chest and pulled him into a hug.


	3. Chapter 3

Another heads up, I like to incorporate the music that I was currently listening to while writing into my writing, so you'll see that in this chapter. And I also want to say: Please don't be afraid to criticize my writing! I've never been very good at writing and I'm pretty sure I'm REAL bad at characterization; especially since I really don't know much about any of the other characters besides Iron Man, Spider-Man, Cap and Thor. SO, if there is anything you guys don't like, just let me know and I'll do my best to fix it. On that note…I kinda wanna turn this into a love-triangle story…but not sure if should… Any thoughts?

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><p>When Loki first awoke he believed that the past day HAD been a dream. At first glance he was in Thor's room, and at the moment he was being crushed by the weight of said snoring Thunder God. He attempted to push Thor off and the fact that he couldn't even budge Thor convinced him again that nothing had been a dream. He groaned loudly. After a minute of trying to squirm out from under Thor he began smacking Thor in the face and pulling his ears.<p>

"Get OFF!" he yelled. Thor snorted and rolled over, freeing Loki.

Loki made his way to the bathroom and groaned again at his reflection in the mirror. It was VERY accurate to say that he had an Afro of fiery curls framing his face. He took a quick shower and braided his hair as tightly as possible in an attempt to gain control over it. He then headed for the living room to see who else was awake, but stopped in the hall when he heard Nick Fury speaking,

"Look, I don't care if you're having fun with your little charity case he's not getting off Scott-free." Nick was saying. There was a groan from another person that had to be Tony. "He tried to dominate all of Earth, Stark. Not to mention his thousands of other schemes. You really wanna let him off?"

"Aww com'on man, he's completely harmless now." Tony's voice sounded like he was talking about a lost cat he just rescued.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's playing your little game perfectly, because it'll benefit him. And after you get him his powers back, he's gonna fry your ass and be right back where he started." Nick had raised his voice just a bit at the end.

"Not if you give him a chance." Tony's voice was very soft.

"A chance at what?" Fury was actually shouted, sounding thoroughly annoyed, and Loki winced.

"OH, I don't know, FRIENDSHIP!" Tony yelled back. "Maybe if we make the effort to be friends with him he won't hate us anymore." He finished calmly. Fury was looking at him like he had grown another head,

"No. I want him in prison. He has to pay. And a couple of years'll do him good." Fury finally responded.

"OH YEAAAH, that'll work! What do you think you're gonna do? Slap his hand and put him in time-out? Tell him he was a bad boy? HE'S A FUCKING PRINCE _AND_ A GOD! He's used to getting away with whatever he wants! He'll laugh at you AND THEN hold a grudge against you!" Tony wasn't even trying to keep his voice down, "You're only gonna piss him off more and make everything worse!" He paused, finally taking a deep breath and calming down, "LOOK. Trust me." He spoke very firmly, "That approach WILL NOT work with Loki. We have to try something else." Fury regarded Tony very carefully before he spoke again,

"Why do you care so much?" he asked softly.

"Because *_I*_ don't believe he's evil! And everyone deserves friendship." Tony's voice was heavy with emotion and finality, "And forgiveness." Fury shook his head,

"I'm sorry Stark. I can't do it. I can't just let him go."

"Well, I'm not letting you lock him up." Tony crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. Fury sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"If there's anything I've learned it's that arguing with you is hopeless…"he mumbled and Tony nodded victoriously,

"FINE. But you're taking the blunt for him." Nick said pointing at Tony.

"Oh, what, you're gonna lock ME up now?" Tony sounded incredulous.

"No." Fury paused to think for a minute, "I'm putting you in rehab."

"WHAAAT?" Tony was appalled by the very thought.

"You're a suicidal alcoholic, Stark."

"So, what, like 6 months?" Tony shrugged.

"Try 5 years." Tony couldn't even respond to that, so Nick continued, "And that's the final deal. It's you or him. So would you like me to arrest him now and be out of your hair? Cause we both know you won't go into rehabilitation." Nick's tone made it obvious that he thought he'd finally won this argument.

"NO. You've got a deal. I'll do it." Tony answered with no hesitation at all. Now it was Fury's turn to look surprised,

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope. What, ya want me to pinky promise? Do the secret handshake? Sign a contract? What?" Tony shrugged. Nick shook his head again,

"You're a fool if you really think you're gonna change him." He sighed in defeat, "I'll send an agent over later with a contract for you to sign." And with that he headed for the door.

"Yeah, it's been nice talking to ya." Tony waved at him with absolute sarcasm. Loki waited till Tony was relaxing on the couch again before he stepped into the room. He hesitated, making sure his face or voice wouldn't give away that he'd been eavesdropping. He cleared his throat softly,

"Good morning." He said and instantly regretted it because he'd sounded too cheery. But Tony didn't seem to notice, he just smiled at Loki,

"Mornin' carrot top! How'd ya sleep?" he patted the couch as to offer Loki a seat. Loki glared at him,

"First of all, don't call me that, ANTHONY." He put heavy emphasis on the name. Tony winced and made a face at the sound of his full name and Loki smiled, "And secondly, I slept rather well underneath my blanket of Thor." At that Tony laughed,

"He never gives you any room does he? Siblings can be smothering." He spoke in a very friendly tone, hoping to not anger Loki by talking about his brother. Loki simply hummed in agreement.

"Hey but look on the brightside," Tony put on a big grin, "At least you know he loves you." Loki was looking at the floor,

"Yes…well," he looked suddenly uncomfortable, "What's for breakfast?" he finally asked. Tony chuckled.

"Whatever you want." He waved in the direction of the kitchen. Loki rose to his feet,

"Well perhaps you should educate me in the ways of Midgardian breakfast?" he gave a small smile, to let Tony know he wasn't angry or anything.

"Oh! Sure!" Tony hopped up excitedly and led Loki into the kitchen, "Let's see…" he began rummaging through a cupboard, "There's always Thor's favorite, Pop-Tarts." He put a box unto the counter, "Then there's cereal…toaster waffles…" he put said items unto the counter as he named them, "OR!" he suddenly spun around to face Loki with a huge grin, "I could make you an omelet!"

Loki looked speculative, "You cook?" he raised an eyebrow at Tony.

"Yeah! Well…just omelets. It's all I ever learned. I lived off omelets for quite a while once." He confessed. "Want me to teach you how to make one?" Tony offered. After a minute Loki shrugged,

"Sure. What the hell." He came to stand by the stove as Tony put away the boxes of food he'd removed earlier,

"Awesome! Just let me put on some tunes. I always work better with music." He typed something into a keypad on a nearby wall and music began playing. A beautiful female voice sang between heavy guitars and fast drums. Loki liked it. Tony was putting ingredients unto the counter by the stove,

"…the cool thing with omelets is that you can put whatever you want in them." He was saying.

"What are we listening to?" Loki asked him, and Tony spoke from inside the fridge,

"Huh? OH. Um…the band is called Nightwish, they're European or something, and the song is The Siren." Tony answered absently. Loki just nodded. Tony finished retrieving all possible ingredients and rubbed his hands together while looking at the selection upon the countertop,

"Ok. SOOO, what do you think you'd want in yours?" he looked at Loki. Loki moved to stand next to him and peer down at the ensemble of vegetables and cheese. He carefully grabbed a few things and placed them next to each other, then shoved all the other ingredients away.

"Hmm. I like a guy who knows what he wants." Tony said with a laugh, then took out a big, sharp knife and held it out to Loki,

"You dice up your ingredients while I make my omelet, then I'll show you what to do for yours. K?" Loki made a face at the realization that Tony was telling him what to do, but gentle took the knife anyways and smiled wickedly,

"You trust me with this weapon?" He teased. Tony chuckled again,

"I think if you wanted to kill me you would have done it already."

"Perhaps I want to mentally torture you first?" Loki spoke while placing a tomato on the cutting board.

"HAH! Good luck! I don't think you could do anymore damage in that area." Tony responded, he was stirring his eggs in a bowl with a whisk, he paused to watch Loki slice the tomato. Long nimble fingers were barely touching, yet firm, and the knife went through like it was on hot butter. Tony shook his head in disbelief, even as a mortal man Loki was still godly perfection. Tony did a double take as he suddenly realized Loki was still wearing HIS clothes, and DAMN that Jack Daniel's tee had never looked better. Tony found himself wondering what his shirt would smell like now, or rather what Loki smelled like ON his shirt. Loki was chopping up a few green onions now and humming along with the music, he glanced at Tony in confusion,

"Are you going to cook that?" He nodded to the bowl of egg that was still in Tony's hands; Tony looked down at the bowl,

"Oh…yeah…" He clicked the stove on and placed a pan down upon it.

"What are we listening to now?" Loki asked as he resumed chopping.

"Garbage." Tony said nonchalantly.

"Well if you don't like it then why do you listen to it?" Loki was giving him a look. Tony laughed,

"No no no! Garbage is the actual name of the band." He explained and Loki just nodded in understanding. A comfortable silence fell between them as Loki continued cutting and Tony watched his egg cooking. Every few minutes Loki peered at Tony from the corner of his eye, but Tony was still just staring at his egg in the pan. Loki couldn't even begin to fathom why Tony would sacrifice himself for Loki's benefit. Did he think he could gain something from Loki? Or take advantage of him in his current state of being? Loki shook his head in confusion; Tony couldn't REALLY just want to be friends, that was ridiculous. So what was his ulterior motive?

"Hey check this out." Tony said as he picked the pan up off the stove, egg still cooking inside it, "Watch how awesome I am." He wiggled his eyebrows in excitement. With a soft movement of his wrist he slid the egg around in the pan then quickly threw his arm forward and Loki watched as the egg flew into the air, turned over once, and landed safely back in the pan. Tony gave him a huge smile, "Tah DUH!" he said triumphantly.

"Nicely done." Loki commented with a smile. Tony finished adorning his omelet with cheese then slid it onto a plate. He put the pan back on the stove and dropped some more butter into it.

"Ready?" he asked Loki and Loki nodded. Tony grabbed the same mixing bowl he'd used earlier,

"Ok. I've found that it makes it easier to just mix everything together first. So crack an egg or two in here then drop in as much of your ingredients as you want, and beat it with this whisk," He put the bowl and whisk on the counter in front of Loki. Loki easily complied and Tony just leaned against the counter and watched him. He was only slightly shocked to learn that Loki could crack an egg with only one hand, his left hand Tony noted, was there anything those long fingers couldn't do? Tony vaguely realized that Loki's finger reminded him of spider's legs, and that sent a shiver through him, he hated spiders. He realized Loki was looking at him now,

"OH. Finished?" He asked. Loki just nodded and stepped out of the way so Tony could show him what to do next. Tony grabbed a spatula and spread the butter around in the pan, then poured Loki's egg mix into the pan while Loki watched over his shoulder. They stayed like that quietly till the egg was almost completely cooked, then Tony held the pan out to Loki and smiled,

"Wanna try it?" there was a daring glint in his brown eyes. Loki gently took the handle and held the pan over the stove. It had looked easy enough, so why not? He did his best to mimic Tony's previous movements, but unfortunately ended in a completely different way. The egg hit the edge of the pan and half of it landed on the stove. Tony started laughing like a loud idiot and Loki glared at him like death. Tony took the pan back when he'd finally stopped cackling,

"No problem, it happens to everyone at least once." He said between giggles, "Well it seems we found something that Loki can't do." He began laughing out loud again as he flipped the remains of the omelet unto a plate. He looked to his right as he saw Loki picking up his plate,

"Hey what are you…?" He began to ask, but dropped his jaw in astonishment as he watched Loki suddenly chop his omelet in half and drop one half into the sink, then smile like a mischievous little shit.

"Now were even." He said in a cheery tune. Tony couldn't help but laugh again,

"You're a vindictive bitch, you know that?" he said while placing their plates across from each other on the kitchen island. Loki sat down and popped a bite of egg into his mouth before answering,

"You shouldn't have laughed at me."

"I wasn't laughing *at* you…" Tony was still giggling, "OK, maybe a little." Loki couldn't find it in himself to be actually mad, he was having too much fun, but he would never admit that to anyone. So he just smiled to himself. Tony made them some toast with jam as well and they ate in silence, neither one knowing what to talk about. Clint and Steve came in laughing together about something. Clint poured himself a cup of coffee before addressing Tony and Loki,

"Hey. What was all the yelling earlier? Fury making a house call?" he sipped his coffee. Tony was nodding,

"Yeah. He was being a real jerk too. Sorry if it woke anybody." He spoke with a mouth full of toast. Thor came in and grabbed a cup of coffee and a Pop-Tart, then sat next to Loki,

"Good morning, Brother!" He shouted in uncontrolled excitement, Loki winced at Thor,

"Must you be so damn loud and cheery first thing in the morning?" he hissed. Thor made a face,

"Sorry." He whispered. Steve cleared his throat to hush them,

"SO, what was it that Nick and you were yelling about?" He asked Tony. Tony was putting his plate in the sink and pouring himself more coffee,

"Well," he spoke with hesitation, not sure how to say it without hurting Loki's feelings or something, "He still thinks that since Loki doesn't have any powers right now that it's a perfect time to lock him up and try to teach him a lesson." He didn't look at Loki while he spoke. Steve waved a hand, ushering him to continue,

"And you said…"

"I said no!" Tony shrugged, "I don't think it's fair. And besides, I don't think Nick really cares that much. I'm pretty sure somebody is nagging at him, telling him that he can't allow it or some shit like that. Probably Coulson." Clint nodded in agreement.

"Actually, it was me." Steve said casually. Everyone looked at him suddenly,

"What? Why would you do that?" Tony sounded very hurt. Steve shrugged,

"Because Tony, the law's the law," he stepped closer to Tony, "If Victor von Doom suddenly lost all his powers, we wouldn't let him in here with open arms and tell him he can be part of the group."

"There is a HUGE difference between Loki and Doom." Tony was pointing angrily at Steve, Steve looked incredulous,

"What difference? Please, enlighten me!" He said.

"Loki's not evil! He's just…having a bad time…in life." Tony couldn't think of how to say what he was trying to say. Steve was shaking his head,

"Haven't you ever heard the saying: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions?" he said softly, "I have nothing personal against Loki. Whether his intentions were good or not doesn't matter; a criminal is still a criminal."

"So you still want him locked up?" Tony was getting furious. Loki thought maybe Tony cared a little too much about all this.

"I want him to do time, yes." Steve said. Peter, Bruce, and Natasha all came into the kitchen suddenly,

"YO." Peter said, "What is with all the yelling today?" Bruce and Natasha were nodding. Tony huffed at them,

"Ya know what? I'm glad you're all here," He turned back to Steve, "Let's vote on it." Tony demanded. Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation,

"We are not voting on matters of upholding the law." Steve said. Tony crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows,

"Why not? 'Fraid you'll lose?" He dared. Steve glared at him,

"FINE." He said then turned to face everyone else in the room, "Tony and I are arguing about Loki and whether or not he should serve jail time for his crimes in the past," he explained, "I say he should, but Tony thinks he should be given a pass and a second chance. Those who agree with me please stand by me, and those who agree with Tony go stand next to him." The others all looked at one another in confusion and hesitation, but slowly made their way to stand by who they choose. In the end it was a tie; Thor obviously choose to forgive Loki, and Peter stood rather defiantly beside Tony. Natasha was by Steve and Clint was only there because he was on Natasha's side. But Bruce hadn't made a decision. They were all looking at him.

"Bruce." Steve urged, and Bruce sighed dramatically.

"Guys, can we not fight. I hate choosing sides." He whined.

"No, you have to pick a side." Steve ordered. Loki saw Bruce's eyes flash green for a second,

"I _really_ don't want to." He said. Clint spoke out,

"Wait, does Bruce get to vote twice, since his like two different peop…."

"Shut up Clint." Steve growled, then smiled back at Bruce, "Please?" he begged. Bruce made a face in rebellion,

"No. I refuse to go along with this." He said. This time Tony spoke,

"Then does Hulk have an opinion? Cause we really need to settle this." Bruce rolled his eyes,

"Alright." He sighed and began removing his nice white lab coat and shoes. Then Loki watched in rapt horrification as Bruce turned bright green and "Hulked-out" right in front of him. Hulk didn't look the least bit interested, but he looked back and forth between the two groups for a few minutes, then snorted,

"Hulk no like girly-man who throw fire in his face." He simply commented as he went to stand by Steve. Steve grinned in victory,

"Thank you, Hulk. I appreciate that." He said. Tony's face was red with anger,

"FINE!" He threw his hands up dramatically, "But I'm not doing rehab now! Since you're just gonna lock him up anyways!" He shouted. Natasha gestured to Peter,

"Piotr, why are you on his side?" She inquired. Peter looked startled for a second,

"I don't know, man! I like Loki." He said. Loki laughed to himself; we've barely ever spoke, he thought.

"So, you're willing to just let him get away him everything he's done…because you "like him"?" Steve narrowed his eyes at Peter.

"Let bygones be bygones? I mean, do you know how many second chances I've given Venom? And I still consider Eddie Brock my friend. He's not evil, he just has a hungry alien always yelling at him, and he can't control it all the time. Maybe Loki's like that? He's just been hurt and he loses control? Or maybe he's just looking for attention. Who hasn't done shit for attention in their life?" Peter shrugged. Tony cocked an eyebrow at Peter,

"The Venom analogy was terrible…but we get your point. Thank you." He mumbled. Loki cleared his throat gently,

"Might I get to vote?" he asked no one in particular.

"Of course, Br…" Thor began to speak but Steve interrupted him,

"NO. Why would you be allowed to vote?" It was a rhetorical question. Loki smiled softly at him,

"Because I might surprise you." He answered anyways.

"Let him speak!" Tony barked at Steve, and Steve just glared back at him. Loki took a deep breathe,

"I agree with Steven." He said. Steve and Tony started yelling at each other, Thor and Peter tried getting Loki to reconsider, and Natasha began shouting at Steve and Tony to stop fighting; all this happened instantaneously. Loki folded his hands in his lap and waited. Hulk put his hands over his ears and groaned in annoyance, he then suddenly roared and everyone fell silent. Loki looked at all of them with raised eyebrows,

"Are you quite finished?" he asked. No one spoke so he continued, "Good. Then I shall explain my reasoning," he paused, thinking of the best way to put his thoughts together, "I feel…that, perhaps, this unfortunate accident, has happened to me for a reason. A good reason; an opportunity," He paused again to see if he still held all of their attention, "An opportunity…to change." His eyebrows pulled together and his shoulders suddenly slumped. Tony frowned. A great sadness was in Loki's eyes now, and he looked…defeated.

"I spent a lot of time just this morning thinking about things. And, I suppose, I had an epiphany. I realized just how alone I really am. Asgard is lost to me; I shall never be welcome there again, and I know it. But Earth…Earth is always changing, unlike Asgard which has been the same since the dawn of time, and I think there is hope for me on Earth. I don't want to be hated anymore!" He looked at them with a sudden determination and, much to their surprise, tears rolling down his face. He threw his hand out in Thor's direction, "I want my Brother back! I want a home! And friends! And I don't want to die ALONE!" He cried. He put a hand over his eyes and recomposed himself for a minute, "But, I will not just take those things." He spoke very softly, almost a whisper, "I wish to _earn_ them. And I will do what is necessary, to make me OK in your eyes." He looked directly at Steve as he said this, "SO, I will accept whatever punishment you see fit, and I will earn my place anew." He was smiling at them now. No one could really say anything for a while. Steve scratched the back of his neck nervously,

"WELL, maybe, you won't have to go to jail…maybe just…a therapist, and a parole officer or something. And some community service." He mumbled uncomfortably then he pointed a finger at Loki, "And you're doing ALL the choirs while you stay here!" he said firmly, "And whatever else I decide on." Loki smiled and nodded,

"Of course." Was all he said. Steve looked very thrown off by this,

"Ok. Well…um…good." He tried to put on his authority face, "I'm glad to see you taking responsibility for your actions." He said. Loki's smile widen for a second, then fell,

"You still plan on helping me get my powers back, right?" there was a sliver of desperation in his voice.

"Absolutely!" Tony said, he walked around the kitchen island and put an arm around Loki's shoulders, "Don't worry about it! I'm gonna get on that right away." He promised. The Hulk grunted,

"Hulk forgive girly-man for throwing fire at him." He said then stuck a big, green finger against Loki's chest, "But you no do it again!" he shouted in Loki's face, then gave Loki a look of annoyance, "And you no cry. Hulk hate crying." He grumbled as he left the room. The others all laughed. Tony glanced at Natasha, and the look on her face made it obvious that she didn't believe Loki's little display of emotion,

"Something wrong?" Tony asked with a lance of frustration in his voice. She glared at him,

"Yes. How do we know we can trust him at all? Powers or no powers, he's still a liar." She spoke with a lot of hostility as she focused her gaze on Loki. Loki tried not to squirm away from her. Tony stepped closer to Natasha and got her attention,

"You wanna know how to find out if you can trust someone?" He said, "You just trust them. And if they betray you in the end, WELL, then I guess you can't trust them." He shrugged. Natasha looked at him like he was some babbling idiot,

"And you are willing to take that chance?" She asked,

"Absolutely. I did it with you." He pointed at her, "And him." He pointed at Thor, "And Clint, and Hulk." He pointed at Clint and then in the direction of the living room. "And I'll do it with him." He pointed at Loki last. Natasha's face softened, she couldn't really argue his point. She never thought anyone would ever trust her again, but now she had all these friends who not only trusted her, but depended on her in battle. She nodded, and smiled in understanding. Tony smiled back. Peter let out a long breath,

"Way too much drama up in this house…" he mumbled, Clint was nodding,

" Yeah. Now that THAT'S over…" he said then looked at Peter, "Mortal Kombat?" he said with a snap of his fingers and a big grin at Peter. Peter laughed,

"You know it!" he high-fived Clint and the two left the room together.

"BROTHER!" Thor suddenly swept Loki up into a bone-crushing hug and kissed his cheek. Loki grimaced at Thor's beard against his skin. "This is all so wonderful!" Thor continued shouting in excitement, "Can you imagine? After we get your powers back, you and I shall fight alongside each other, just like when we were younger!" He was nuzzling Loki. Tony cracked up,

"Woah, big guy! Easy there, you're gonna break 'im." He said while patting Thor's shoulder. Thor put Loki down in surprise,

"Oh, of course. Forgive me, Loki. I forgot." He spoke while gingerly straightening Loki's attire. Loki winced slightly but was smiling,

"That's alright." In honesty, part of him had really missed Thor's ridiculously enthusiastic affection. Tony suddenly snapped his fingers with determination,

"I know EXACTLY who to ask for help…" he mumbled to himself before running out the door and down to his workshop. Thor and Loki shrugged at each other in confusion then went into the living room to join them others.


	4. Chapter 4

WHAT? Two updates in one day? HELL YEAH! lol. Just lemme know what you guys think.

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><p>A week had passed in peace. Nick Fury had assigned separate therapists to Loki and Tony both. Loki's therapist visited every day, while Tony had to leave to go see his. Loki also now had a house arrest anklet attached to his left leg, and a parole officer that visited every other day. Fury had decided that Loki would serve house arrest until his therapist decided otherwise, then he'd be put to work with community service until his powers were returned. Loki hadn't argued at all. Currently Loki was seated casually on the kitchen counter, orange ringlets up in a bun, reading a compendium of H.P Lovecraft. By now no one even gave a second glance to Loki's strange reading habits. At one point Tony had made a joke about how Loki was like a cat, climbing unto whatever he deemed comfortable at the time. Tony wasn't home at the moment; he'd been called off by Pepper to do something that he didn't think was important at all. As far as Loki knew, the others were enjoying the lovely summer day in the pool; another reason Loki had decided to stay indoors with the air conditioner. Tony had absently told Loki that he was expecting some guests later today, but hadn't given any further information than that, so Loki figured Steve would handle it. Tony came into the kitchen and placed grocery bags unto the counter. Loki looked up, wide eyed; startled by the sudden intrusion,<p>

"That was fast," He commented, then glanced at the microwave clock, "You've only been gone an hour."

"Yeah, like I said, it wasn't that important." Tony was removing the contents of the bags unto the counter. Loki hopped down from his perch and smirked at Tony,

"More likely it _was_ important, therefore you didn't feel like sticking around to be held responsible for something." He chuckled. Tony grinned at him,

"You know me well." He said while sliding a few items across the counter at Loki, "I took the liberty of stopping at the store to buy you some things that you might find useful for the time being." Loki assessed said items; there was a toothbrush, a hairbrush and various hair accessories like headbands or ponytails, and a large decorative…thing…that resembled a pair of scissors with flat blades. He picked up this last item and looked at Tony in confusion,

"It's called a flat iron." Was Tony's response, "You plug it into an outlet and turn it on, then these two ceramic plates…" he pointed while speaking, "...heat up to like 400 degrees. You put your hair through it like this…" He suddenly reached up and pulled Loki's hair out of its containment then placed a strand between two of his fingers to demonstrate, "…and the heat will straighten your hair." He concluded. Loki looked impressed,

"Thank you." He said. It would be nice to not have to share Thor's hairbrush anymore, or toothbrush for that matter; he made a face at this thought. And it'd be nice to have straight hair again. Steve entered the kitchen and smiled at them, then got himself a soda from the fridge,

"How'd it go?" He asked Tony,

"Eh." Tony responded with a shrug. Loki laughed before collecting his new items and leaving the room to put them away. He stepped into the living room and froze in place as there were two people sitting on the couch that did not belong there. One was a rather short and hairy man with a fat cigar in his mouth and hair on his head that stuck up like ears. The other was tall, lean, and…well…BLUE. Loki silently placed his things down on a side table and went back into the kitchen to stare at Tony in confusion, Steve and Tony stopped talking to regard Loki with joined looks of concern. Loki's eyebrows pulled together as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the living room,

"There are strangers on your couch. And one of them is…blue." He told them. Steve laughed,

"Oh yeah. Wolvie's here with Nightcrawler." He said to Tony. Tony hopped off the kitchen stool,

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he whined as he went into the living, Steve and Loki trailed behind.

"HEY GUYS!" Tony threw his arms out in greeting, and both men smiled at him and got off the couch to hug him. Loki stood rather uncomfortably by the door. The men spoke amongst each other for a few minutes, catching up on events that had happened in their separate lives. Tony turned to Loki and gently grabbed his elbow, pulling him closer to the group,

"Guys, this is Loki. I told you about him, he's the one we're trying to help. Loki; this is Wolverine, or Logan," He gestured to the short, scruffy man and Logan only grunted in response, "And this is Nightcrawler, or Kurt. They're from the X-Men." Loki couldn't stop staring at Kurt; he was as tall as Loki, with skin the color of dark indigo, and eyes like molten gold. Kurt stepped forward with startling speed,

"Guten tag, my friend!" He was as loud and enthusiastic as Thor, with a heavy accent that Loki was sure he recognized, he was extending his hand out to Loki. Loki glanced at it and was taken further aback to see that this man hand only three fingers, Kurt saw Loki's reaction and gently pulled his hand away,

"I'm sorry." He said softly, as if he'd offended Loki somehow, and Loki saw this look of heart-broken rejection in the other man's golden eyes,

"NO!" He suddenly grabbed Kurt's hand in both of his, "_I_ am sorry. I didn't mean to hesitate." He smiled honestly at Kurt and the man's face light up like it was Christmas morning. This man was obviously very uncomfortable with his own appearance, Loki thought, and despite his sweet, cheerful disposition there was fear and uncertainty guiding his movements. He was like Loki, unsure if others will accept him and terrified of rejection- of being alone -yet knowing that there was little he could do to change the ways people looked at him. Loki decided he'd be kind to this man, and perhaps learn something from him.

"So…you know magic?" He asked Kurt, Kurt laughed lightly and shook his head,

"Nein. Not at all." Loki cocked an eyebrow at him, "I have a friend. She is a very talented sorceress. I am hoping that she shall be able to help you." Kurt explained. The other three were talking among themselves when Thor came in from outside, he was soaking wet in just a pair of shorts, but regardless, he crushed the three other men in a hug and they all groaned in unison,

"HELLO friend Wolverine!" He bellowed, "It is wonderful to see you again!" he released them. Kurt and Loki were laughing at them. Wolverine didn't seem to really care that he was all wet now,

"Yeah, nice seeing you too, Blondie." He grumbled. Loki figured that that was just Wolverine's natural disposition. Wolverine was lighting up another fat cigar, Kurt sighed at him,

"How dare you smoke those disgusting things in Tony's expensive house…" Loki flinched as Kurt snatched that cigar from Logan's fingers before it touched his lips and flung it through the open back door, all faster than Loki could blink. WOAH, he thought, how incredibly fast this man is. Loki wondered if Kurt had ever used throwing knives. Logan didn't even react to Kurt's sudden movement; he just looked up at him,

"Sorry _MOTHER_, where _are_ my manners?" he said with heavy sarcasm. Tony was making "tsk tsk" sounds while waving a finger at Logan and the others laughed. Logan punched Tony in the arm. Kurt threw his arm around Loki's shoulders and Loki yelped out loud at the man's sudden closeness, but Kurt didn't seem to notice,

"Let us go in another room, my friend. Perhaps we will be able to speak in peace then." He was laughing and gently guiding Loki to the kitchen. Loki noted that Kurt had obvious trouble pronouncing "TH" in his speech, and thought it sounded rather amusing. Kurt jumped up unto the kitchen counter and crossed one leg over the other,

"As I was saying earlier," he began as Loki took a seat behind the island. Kurt's tail was idly twirling around the counter's edge, "I have a good friend who performs magic. Her name is Amanda, she resides in Limbo. She is the reason Tony called me, hoping that I could get her to change you to your natural state." Loki looked up from watching Kurt's tail,

"Really? Interesting. And how do we intend to go to her?" He wondered, Kurt chuckled,

"_WE_ do not. I shall go to Limbo and retrieve her. I've gone to visit her many times." Kurt explained. Loki still looked very confused,

"How can you get there?"

"I teleport!" Kurt exclaimed.

"But, you said you don't know any magic." Loki argued.

"It is not magic. I am a mutant, and teleportation is my birth-given ability."

"Then why can I not go with you?" Loki really wanted an opportunity to see Limbo. Kurt frowned,

"I cannot. I haven't the power to carry someone through inter-dimensional travel with me. The strain would most likely kill us both." He sounded very disappointed by this fact.

"Oh." Loki was bummed, he'd really wanted to go, and was pretty sure that this house arrest band wouldn't have much effect on him leaving the dimension.

"So when will you go get her?" He asked Kurt, hoping to move things along quickly. Kurt's smile returned,

"Whenever you are ready!" He said. Loki stood up,

"Then immediately, please." He realized he sounded pretty desperate, but didn't care, "I'd like to meet her, and find out if she can even help me or not." He explained. Kurt didn't seem bothered by his forwardness,

"Of course!" He leaped off the counter, "Just let me speak to my companion and I shall be off." They returned to the living room to find everyone sitting around on the floor, drinking beer and laughing loudly. Kurt sat down by Logan and began speaking into his ear, Logan was shaking his head, then waved at Loki, ushering him to come closer,

"Sit down, Red! Relax. Have a beer." He threw a can at Loki. Loki looked appalled, but Kurt spoke for him,

"Logan…he needs our help. And he is correct in the fact that we don't even know if Amanda can help him. We should find out now." He was explaining. Logan grunted and wrapped an arm around Kurt's slim waist, holding him in place,

"I say no. I say, sit, relax. It's only lunchtime. We got all day." He was looking at Loki. Kurt sighed and gave Loki a very sad look as if to say "I'm so sorry". Loki just smiled softly, he figured Logan was right and there was no harm in waiting a little longer. So he sat next to Thor and opened his beer. Their summertime relaxation was rudely interrupted by an alarm that resonated through the mansion, and all the Avengers groaned loudly. Kurt and Logan cracked up.

"Off to save the world then?" Logan asked, they were all getting up from the floor.

"Probably not." Steve said, "Probably just a bank robber or AWOL killer robot. But regardless…" He stuck his head out the back door to address the others that were still in the pool, "AVENGERS! ASSEMBLE!" He shouted. Thor was twirling Mjolnir in anticipation; he had easily "magicked" himself into his armor and now waited for the others to be ready. Nightcrawler was pulling uniforms out of a backpack he must have brought with him,

"Shall we join you?" He asked Captain America. Steve smiled,

"Of course! The more, the merrier." Steve clapped him on the shoulder. In a few more minutes all the Avengers stood ready, along with Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Kurt turned to Loki,

"Will you come with us? Even though I realize you can't fight." Loki was shaking his head, he stuck his leg out and showed them the little, black box strapped to his left ankle,

"Oooo." Kurt and Logan winced in unison, as if they completely understood Loki's suffering.

"I am sorry, my friend. I promise we shall return when the trouble is dealt with." Kurt smiled. Loki nodded and waved to them as they rushed to the Quinjet hanger,

"Good luck." He said, and then he was alone in the big mansion. He momentarily considered turning on the news to see if whatever trouble there was would be shown, but decided against it, then picked up his book from earlier and sat down on the couch.

* * *

><p>Tony really hated it when Steve was right. Apparently Reed Richards had tried to make a robot that would be able to combat Victor von Doom's Doombots more effectively, but he unfortunately, accidentally made it too smart. So it decided to rebel; and if you can ever count on Reed to make something of quality, it's when he's building a killer robot. Thankfully it was just ONE robot. If Wolverine could just get close enough to it, it would be metal mincemeat, but it kept blasting Logan in the face whenever he got too close. Despite his best efforts, Tony couldn't stay focused on the fight, his mind drifted to thoughts of Loki and worry about the fact that they had left him alone. Tony was really afraid they'd get home to find the poor man dead with a bottle of vodka in his hands. Tony had been struck to the ground twice now, and didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He groaned,<p>

"Can this be over already so I can go home to him?" He mumbled to himself, but of course his internal microphone was on and Clint was the first to quip in,

"Get home to who?" He chided.

"Loki?" Peter joined in. Tony groaned again.

"Boys. Focus." Steve commanded. Clint was helping Tony up off the ground again,

"Hey, I think we totally got this handled. So if you really wanna go check on him…" He said and Peter was nodding. Tony caught Steve's eye and he was giving him a "don't even think about it" look, but Tony smiled,

"Ya know what? I totally will. Thanks guys. Be careful." And with that he was gone, jetting off over the buildings and back toward the mansion. Steve sighed in exasperation.

* * *

><p>Tony stumbled into his workshop and out of his armor, and then continued to stumble up the stairs and into the living room. The sight he found made his heart skip a beat. Loki was curled on the couch, hands tucked under one cheek and knees pulled up to his chest, asleep. His book had fallen in a heap on the floor so Tony gently picked it up and placed it on the coffee table. He sat down on the floor and just watched Loki for a few minutes. No one could ever argue that Loki was the pinnacle of beauty, flawless in every physical way and even more so when he was asleep. Maybe because sleep brought peace to his features, instead of the usual pain and sorrow that Tony saw there. Tony laid his head on the couch, forehead barely touching Loki's, and softly ran his fingers through the ginger curls till he found himself falling asleep.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

The robot was finally vanquished, thanks to a well-placed lightning bolt courtesy of Thor, and the Avengers were now cleaning up the pieces. Thor landed on the ground and approached Captain America,

"Where is Iron Man? He has not been injured, has he?" He asked in honest concern.

"No. He left early; to go check up on Loki." Steve answered with obvious annoyance. Thor's expression changed completely to that of contained rage,

"He is home, alone, with _my_ Brother?" He pronounced every word deliberately and put heavy emphasis on the word "my". The others looked up in surprise,

"Yeah…he just wanted to make sure he was ok." Clint defended, but whether Thor heard this or not, no one knew, because a split second later Thor was gone and flying back to the mansion.

* * *

><p>Thor gracefully landed on the roof of their mansion and made his way quickly down the stairs. He stopped in the hallway to the living room and looked at Loki and Tony, both were asleep. Loki was still curled on the couch, but now Tony was sitting on the floor with his head next to Loki's and his hand tangled in Loki's hair. No one saw the look of raw hate that Thor was giving Tony, nor did anyone hear as Thor entered his room and threw Mjölnir through a wall.<p>

* * *

><p>The Avengers were chatting loudly with Nightcrawler and Wolverine as they came home. They all stepped into the grand living room and slowly fell silent as they gazed at Loki and Tony. Steve's face was twisted between something of horror and confusion. He stepped over to the couch and reached out to shake Tony's shoulder, but Loki suddenly stirred. He stretched out like a cat and slowly sat up, blinking sleep from his emerald eyes, then looked at Steve and smiled. Steve was momentarily awe-struck by just how gorgeous Loki was waking up. He cleared his throat as a blush crept into his cheeks. Loki glanced at Tony and frowned.<p>

"What is he doing there?" He asked. Steve straightened up,

"Um...well, he was really concerned about leaving you home alone. So, he came back to check on you…" Steve explained nervously. Loki easily reached out and slapped Tony's cheek. Tony jumped up snorting, and dragged the back of his hand over his mouth, wiping away drool that had collected there. He first smiled at Loki, then glanced at Steve,

"Oh. You're back." His voice was still heavy was sleep.

"Yeah.", was all Steve said as everyone began to settle in the room. A comfortable noise buzzed as everyone chatted amongst each other or played videogames.

"Where's Thor?" Loki asked out loud, as he noted that his Brother was the only one absent. Everyone paused mid-speech to glance around,

"He should be home." Steve answered, "He left us not long after Tony did."

"And he seemed pretty mad about Tony being home alone with you." Clint added. Loki got off the couch and headed up the stairs. Tony looked frightened all of the sudden,

"Was he really mad?" he whispered while glancing between Steve and Clint. Loki stood outside Thor's room and gently rapt his knuckles on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked a little loud, but still got no response. He didn't hesitate to just turn the knob and step inside, closing the door silently behind him. The first thing that got his attention was Mjölnir imbedded in the far wall, and from the impact point a long crack stretched across the wall and through the window frame, glass was all over the floor. Loki sighed then looked to the bed; and there Thor was lying, still dressed in all his armor, staring blankly at the ceiling. Loki wasn't sure how to approach this situation,

"What has upset so?" he asked in the sweetest voice he could muster without sounding nervous. Thor didn't answer he just put his arm out to Loki as if beckoning him near. Loki understood, so he crawled over the mounds of fur blankets to rest at Thor's side. Thor gripped him in a fierce hug and they stayed that way for a few minutes. Loki tried to get Thor to speak again,

"Tell what is wrong." He urged. Thor gave a heavy sigh,

"I have only just gotten you returned to my life, and now I feel that someone is trying to take you away again." He mumbled, he sounded absolutely pitiful. Loki chuckled,

"Who? Who could be taking me away?" he was making Thor look him in the eyes. Thor made a pout,

"Tony…"he whined. Loki's eyes widen,

"What? Tony? What are you talking about?"

"Can you not see how he fancies you?" Thor was looking at him with a sort of desperation, like he was trying to urge Loki to understand. Loki laughed out loud,

"Don't be ridiculous! Tony Stark does not _fancy_ me. He flirts with anything that has a pretty face and a nice ass." Loki continued to laugh. Thor shook his head,

"He looks at you differently…"he whispered. Loki stopped laughing; this topic was putting Thor in obvious distress.

"Thor, regardless of how someone may feel about me they will never take me from you, nor replace you in my life. You hold a special part of my heart that can only belong to you." Loki gave him a big smile. The look off longing that Loki now saw in those big, blue eyes was so strong that it made the physical closeness between them very uncomfortable. But Thor just crushed Loki in another hug,

"Thank you. You don't know how happy that makes me." Thor spoke in a passionate whisper, and something told Loki that Thor had interpreted his words in a completely different way than they were meant. Loki patted Thor's chest,

"Of course, Brother. You know I love you." Loki put careful emphasis on "Brother", hoping to get the point across. Thor chuckled softly and kissed Loki's forehead. Loki wondered how long they could lie in bed like this before it became unacceptable, but Thor didn't seem to be in a rush to move. Loki gently cleared his throat,

"I think I shall let Tony know about your wall, so that he may have someone fix it. Ok?" He was slowly pulling away from Thor. Thor just nodded,

"Alright."

Loki left the room before Thor could change his mind. A strange feeling washed over him as he headed down the stairs, he couldn't exactly place what it was, but he was sure he'd never felt it before. Maybe it was a human emotion? He would ask Tony. He saw that Tony wasn't in the living room so Loki didn't even slow his pace as he turned the corner and went down to the workshop. He stopped at the door,

"Jarvis? Might I come in?" He asked the wall panel.

"Of course, Master Loki. Mr. Stark has given you permission to access all parts of his home." Jarvis responded like they were talking about the weather. Loki's eyebrows went up at his comment,

"He has? Why would he do that? And why did you call me Master?" He inquired.

"I do what I am programmed to do, Master Loki. But one could imagine that Tony holds you in high esteem." Was Jarvis' condescending reply. Loki snorted at the snobby computer,

"Yes, well…he should." With that Loki pushed the door open and went to stand in front of Tony's workbench, he just watched as Tony was putting some piece of machine together,

"You think you could hand me that?" Tony spoke with a very annoyed tone while pointing at some tool. Loki was startled; both by Tony's tone of voice and that Tony had even known he was there. Loki went to reach for the tool when it was picked up by some silly looking robot. The robot dropped the instrument in Tony's waiting hand,

"Took ya long enough." Tony mumbled. Loki almost laughed out loud; Tony had no idea he was standing there. Oh this would be fun, Loki thought, and he slowly, very softly, made his way to stand behind Tony. He put his hands at both sides of Tony's waist, then simultaneously poked Tony's sides while whispering,

"Boo!", in his ear. Tony squealed like a little girl and jumped so high out of his chair Loki thought he might hit the ceiling, then he went toppling to the floor. Loki was cackling like a maniac. Tony was looking at him in shocked horror but his face quickly changed to anger,

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Tony hollered as he got up off the floor, "God dammit Loki!" Loki was still laughing, there were even tears in his eyes he was laughing so hard, "Shit man. I think I momentarily died!" Tony started laughing, he couldn't help it, there was something about Loki's laugh that was contagious. They enjoyed peals of laughter for a few more minutes before Tony tackled Loki to floor,

"How long were you standing there?" He asked while pinning Loki to the ground. Loki just laid there and shrugged,

"Only a minute or so." Tony was waggling his eyebrows at Loki,

"Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna get you back for that. I'm pretty sure I pissed myself." They both laughed again. Tony put his hands on Loki's lean ribcage and started tickling him. Loki shrieked, and Tony winced,

"Damn! I didn't think you could get that high pitched." He said, but didn't relent as his fingers worked over Loki's waist. Somehow Loki managed to get his foot against Tony's chest and he kicked Tony off. Even without his god-strength Loki had enough power to send Tony into the wall. Loki jumped up,

"OH!" He went to Tony and gently stroked his head, which had smacked into the wall, "Oh Tony. I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" He was looking all over Tony, eyes wide, making sure he hadn't damaged him too much. He squeaked in surprise as Tony grabbed his face in both hands and smashed their lips together. It was pretty rough at first, but as Loki relaxed they progressed into tender nibbling then a mess of tongues. When they finally stopped, both their faces were flushed and they were panting. Loki still held a look of confusion and uncertainty in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Tony whispered, looking Loki right in the eyes, but not looking the least bit actually repentant.

"Why did you do that?" Loki whispered in return. Tony shrugged, and blushed a deeper red,

"I like you." He was still whispering, but now with a goofy grin on his face. Tony thought this whole situation reminded him of the first girl he'd ever kissed when he was just a kid; it was awkward and exciting, and neither party member really knew what to do next. They both were still sitting on the floor, staring off in different directions in silence. After an excruciating couple of minutes Tony scratched the back of his neck and coughed,

"You…uhm…you wanna do it again?" He looked at Loki from under his eyelashes, brow pulled together in hopefulness. Loki just looked at him for a minute then gave Tony a big, mischievous grin,

"Yes." He said in a low husky voice and made a show of biting his bottom lip. Tony swallowed and felt a little weak in the knees; good thing they were still on the floor, he thought. He didn't know how to act around Loki like this, with anyone else it's easy, but something about Loki sent all of Tony's confidence out the window. So he sat there awkwardly until Loki moved to sit in his lap and capture his mouth again. They moved a few times but finally settled with Loki's legs wrapped around Tony's waist while Tony stayed sitting on the floor. Loki played relentlessly in Tony's hair, scratching and pulling every few minutes, but not in a hurtful way. Tony had worked his hands under Loki's shirt to gently glide his fingers over Loki's smooth back and Loki arched into him. Tony slowly moved them to his makeshift bed in the corner, and considering neither of them showed up to dinner, no one knows how long they'd actually stayed there.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony awoke to the sweet scent of Loki's hair in his nose, he was lying on his back with Loki curled on his chest. He smiled at the sight. Even though they'd done nothing but make out like hot, horny teenagers most the night Tony felt victoriously satisfied. He had made subtly hints that he'd wanted more, but Loki stopped him every time. Tony didn't mind though, if Loki wanted to take things slow then he would wait forever. He glanced to the left to look at his alarm clock that sat atop a pile of laundry, it read nine thirty. He groaned softly. He needed to be up and working, but he couldn't bring himself to wake Loki. Thankfully, he didn't have. The workshop door suddenly opened and the sharp clacking of high heels told Tony that Pepper was here to yell at him, and sure enough she stopped in front of the mattress where Tony lay on the floor and glared at him. She put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot, then gestured to the red-head in Tony's arms,

"Really? You're bringing you little bedmates into the workshop now?" She was all but spitting venom. Tony looked surprised as he realized Pepper didn't know about Loki. She'd been so busy the past month that she'd hardly been there to see what was going on. Tony tried to explain but Loki suddenly sat up, yawning. He took in Pepper and her angry demeanor then glanced at the clock, and finally looked at Tony,

"You're late, aren't you?" He asked. Tony nodded,

"Yeah, pretty much." He answered. Loki moved so Tony could get up. Tony grabbed Pepper's arm and headed for the door as Pepper was staring and pointing at Loki,

"That's a man…" Loki heard Pepper say as the two left the workshop,

"Yeah. That's Loki." Tony said.

"WHAT? Ok. So not only are you sleeping with MEN now, but supervillian men?"

"I didn't sleep with him Pepper…" Tony sighed. Loki chuckled as the workshop door clicked close, cutting off anymore of the dialog. Loki wrapped himself in Tony's quilt for another hour, just enjoying the warm, musky smell that was Tony. He had a lot to consider now. Not only had Thor been right about Tony having feelings for Loki, but apparently Thor had feelings for Loki as well and was very jealous of Tony. This could create problems. And despite Loki's subtle attempts to make Thor understand that his feelings were not acceptable, Thor seemed oblivious. In fact, Loki believes he might have accidently made Thor think that he felt the same way. Loki groaned and slapped a hand against his forehead. He needed to distract himself from this craziness, so he hopped off the little mattress and went to gaze at the machine that Tony had been building the previous night. In three seconds flat Loki spotted more than a dozen mistakes. He rolled his eyes. Of course Tony wouldn't notice these mistakes till after he'd finished the machine and blew up half the mansion; perhaps Loki could help avoid that,

"Jarvis?" He called, he'd finally gotten used to speaking to this computer man.

"Good morning, Master Loki. How might I help you?" came the British voice.

"Put on that Nightwish band that Tony likes so much." Loki said as he started tinkering with Tony's little project.

"Yes, sir. And might I ask what you are doing?" Jarvis responded.

"Just fixing some problems Tony has here."

"And would you like me to record the changes you're making so Mr. Stark can compare them later?" Jarvis was always prepared.

"Yes. That's a good idea." Loki answered absently as he pulled out screws and wires from various places.

"Of course, Master Loki." Was the last thing Jarvis said and then the music started. Loki glanced down and saw something white and powdery on the tabletop. He gently moved the machine and its' scattered components so that he could look at the table. Tony had rapidly scrawled the blueprints of his machine upon the table in white chalk. Loki was taken aback, and then he laughed out loud. Tony was defiantly "Stark" raving, mad, Loki thought, but everyone knows the best geniuses are unstable. Loki softly erased certain parts of the carelessly drawn design and replaced them with what he felt were the proper figures, then he continued to adjust the machine accordingly. When he felt satisfied with his work he left it there, telling Jarvis to turn off the music, and going up the stairs. Today marked the very first day that Loki would meet his assigned therapist and have a session with her. He wasn't looking forward to it. He made his way to Thor's room to take a shower. A few things suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't even noticed before; things that might have told him of Tony's hidden feelings, if he'd been paying attention. The first being Tony's apparent uncontrollable urge to buy Loki things. It had started with hair care products, then new clothes to better fit his mortal life, and then just the other day Tony had come home with a big, beautiful grey and silver fur coat that was apparently hand-made from Finland. Loki had squealed like a teenaged girl when he saw that coat, and Tony had put it right in his hands saying it was for him. Of course Loki had no reason to wear the coat because he wasn't allowed to leave the premises, but oh well, it was a damn nice coat. Now Tony came home with new things for Loki on a regular basis; things that Loki will probably never need. Loki chuckled to himself at this thought. He took extra-long to straighten his hair; mainly because it was the first time he was using the device and secondly, he just wanted to waste time. He took a while to dress himself as well, doing anything to avoid meeting this shrink yet. He finally decided on a nice pair of snake skin imprinted leather pants, that were gorgeous green and brown, and a long sleeve black shirt that laced up across his chest. All of which Tony had bought him. He stuck his tongue out at his reflection, he liked his hair straight but still couldn't stand it being orange. He entered the living room to find everyone milling about like usual, and was surprised to see Logan and Kurt still here. They must have spent the night, he thought. Nick Fury was leaning against the wall by the kitchen door speaking to some blond woman, he glanced at Loki,

"Ah. Speak of the Devil…"He said and gestured to Loki, "Come in, Loki! I'd like you to meet Doctor Carrie Leaf." Loki stepped up to the women and shook her hand, but showed her no emotion. "She's especially trained in the rehabilitation of supervillians and the criminally insane. She spent most of her career working with one man in particular." Nick was explaining, "His name was Cletus Kasady, or better known as the alien menace Carnage." Carrie was nodding, "So I think she's perfectly suited for you." Nick grinned at Loki as if to further say "Because you're a psycho bitch and I'm going to torture you with this therapy"; Loki was pretty positive that Nick was making fun of him in some way. Nick led them to a small study, which until now Loki didn't know existed. It was a quaint little library with two soft leather chairs facing each other in front of a grand sweeping window that gave them a whole view of Manhattan. How come Tony hadn't showed him this room? It was gorgeous.

"…and I'll leave you to it." Nick was saying, then he abruptly left the room. Carrie smiled at Loki and gestured to the chairs,

"Shall we?" She said. Loki grumbled but sat down, making an effort to Loki regal and dominating in an attempt to intimidate this small woman. She was obviously very good at her job because she noticed his behavior right away and laughed softly,

"Hunny, I've spent my life trying to turn a schizophrenic, blood thirsty, mass murderer into a normal human being. You _are not_ going to frighten me." She was very stern but friendly. Loki cocked an eyebrow at her,

"And tell me, how did it go with that man? Did you succeed?" He honestly wanted to know. She frowned deeply,

"No." She was whispering all the sudden, "He's dead." She looked very heartbroken by this fact, but quickly shook it off and smiled at Loki again,

"I just want to ask some typical questions first, OK?" she asked.

"Mmhmm." Was Loki's bored response.

"First of all, how old are you?" she was already making notes upon her clipboard,

"VERY old." Loki said and she looked at him with a quizzical expression,

"Could you be more specific? I know you a god like Thor, but you must have an idea of your age."

"_Hunny_," He used the same tone she had earlier, "I've been alive since before this rock had any sign of life on it, hence VERY old." He was giving her an annoyed grin. She laughed,

"Ok. Let's pretty old." She jotted down something,

"And considering how old you are, do you have any children?" Loki got the feeling that this was a question from her personal inquiring and had nothing to do with the therapy,

"Perhaps. What does that have to do with anything?" he didn't want her beating around the bush, he just wanted to be done with this. She got the hint,

"Of course. Sorry. We'll move along." She began writing again and didn't look up at him as she said, "Now, did you have a good relationship with your parents?" Loki laughed loudly at the irony of that question, and she looked at him with concern,

"Not in the least." He laughed again. Loki could be honest and say she was a very sweet and VERY patient woman. She spent their two hours together listening intently to Loki telling his whole childhood; of his relationship with Thor growing up, of how he'd been treated by all of Asgard his whole life, of how he could never do anything that Odin approved of, of the time he'd had his mouth sewn shut, or the many many times that Odin had him tied to a boulder in some other realm as a form of punishment for something he'd done, and finally of him discovering his true heritage and the havoc that that had created. Loki had cried at only one point in his story. When he was telling her about the gamble he had lost, he mindlessly ran his fingertips over the faint white scars around his lips, and he softly cried as he spoke about how they had made Thor do it, about how Loki had to look into the eyes of the only person who'd ever truly loved Loki while he tied Loki's mouth shut. Of course as soon as the dwarves were gone Thor had tenderly cut and removed every stitch, but the scars never healed, and he didn't mean the physical ones. That's why Loki had taken habit in using his magic to hide the scars, so Thor wouldn't have to look at them. When their time was up, Carrie actually hugged Loki and gave him a sweet smile when she said she couldn't wait to come back and continue. Loki wondered if her friendliness was part of the therapy or just her personality. He returned to the living room while Carrie spoke to Nick who had apparently waited outside the study the entire time.

"Well?" Nick asked her. She sighed,

"I hate to say it, but he's another man with huge daddy issues." She was shaking her head,

"Tell me about it. Almost every one of the men on this team has "daddy issues", and unfortunately it's what got them here. Shitty childhoods make for talented fighters, because they find an outlet for all that anger. Take Hawkeye for example, he let out his anger with a bow and arrow, now he's best marksman in probably the whole country." Nick said.

"Absolutely!" Carrie agreed, "But unfortunately Loki constantly felt ignored, so he took out his anger on others by making them notice him, usually through force; pain, fear, and mischief. And since he was such a natural-born sorcerer he learned how to use that power to push weaker people around, thus beginning his career as villain." She shrugged.

"So is there any hope for him?" Nick asked. Carrie smiled,

"Oh there's always hope. Everything depends on whether or not he actually _wants_ to change. I think if we can find another outlet for his anger and pain, something far less threatening to others, then he'll be just fine. There are of course his other personality flaws," She laughed, "His royal up-bringing has defiantly gone to his head. The way he speaks, it's like he believes he _IS_ God. But he is a genius, just like Stark, and when a person has such a high intellect it tends to give them an ego. I mean, seriously, the first thing he does when meeting someone new is try to intimidate them?" She laughed again.

"Do think he's _evil,_ though?" Nick continued.

"NO. Selfish, angry, arrogant, envious, lonely, narcissistic, paranoid, and a bit delirious, but not evil. He's also very considerate, especially when Thor is involved; kind, emotional, observant, and passionate. Like I said, Loki is a genius. From what I've heard just now, Loki was born very intelligent into a realm of average intelligence people, because he was so much smarter than everyone else they shunned him. Once again, people always alienate things that they don't understand. Loki couldn't handle just taking orders, he had to do what he thought was right based off of what he knew, and he knew _far_ more than anyone else, and then he was constantly punished for being clever. So now he's just confused. He doesn't understand _why_ everyone hates him, or why he's always in trouble, for being smart."

"Hmm. Do you think he's…unstable?" Nick raised an eyebrow at her.

"Perhaps emotionally unstable. But if you mean insane? I'd say no. Someone as intelligent as Loki would hold their mind very preciously; I don't think he'd allow himself to lose it." Nick was nodding,

"Good. That's all I really need to know." And with that they both left the mansion.

Loki came into the living room to find Tony home, sitting on the floor in front of the TV playing Mario Kart against Wolverine, and by his angry cursing he was apparently losing. Loki sat down on the couch next to Kurt,

"Did you two stay the night here?" Loki asked him, he smiled,

"Ja. I felt bad because I didn't do what I promised I'd do for you, so I stayed, and Logan just stayed because he doesn't like to leave me alone." Kurt answered.

"About that, do you still plan to go get Amanda?" Loki would really love to have his powers back by now.

"Oh of course, mein fruend! I was only awaiting your return. I can go now, if you'd like?" Kurt offered and Loki was nodding,

"That would be most appreciated!" He exclaimed. Kurt turned to Logan,

"Logan, I am not going to wait for your approval this time." He laughed; Logan waved a hand at him. Kurt got off the couch,

"Then I shall return! Wish me luck!" He shouted in excitement, then there was a sudden implosion of air, smoke and brimstone, and he was gone. Loki stared at the empty spot in shock and interest.

"What a curious man…" He mumbled to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, sorry this took so long but it was just Thanksgiving and I've been exhausted these past three days. But look on the brightside! I made this chapter extra-long. AND, there's FINALLY naughty sex.

And the part where Thor and Loki are on the roof together was totally inspired by the song "Spiel Mit Mir" by Rammstein, if you don't speak German than you'll have to look up the English lyrics, but I think that song completely fits the part.

* * *

><p>Tony returned to his workshop after dinner to not only find it cleaned up and organized, but his machine had been completed. He froze in a sudden hysteria,<p>

"Jarvis! What happened?" He was looking at his machine in a panic,

"Master Loki took the liberty of adjusting mistakes he had found and then finished putting it together for you, sir." Jarvis was as cool and calm as always.

"What?" Tony whispered loudly to himself, and looked at the blueprints which were now on an actual blueprint sheet and nicely laid out in the table. There were two sheets, one of Tony's original design and the other with Loki's improvements. Tony relaxed suddenly,

"Wow. This is actually good. Great, even." He was looking at the paper in astonishment, "Better than mine!" he realized, "What the hell man, how could he build _MY_ machine better than me?" a jealous anger crept into his voice, "_AND_ he cleaned my work space!" Now he was shouting in anger, "That little bi…!"

"Tony?" Loki's soft voice came from the door and Tony whirled around, eyes wide,

"Bah…" Tony stuttered, "Babe! Hey! Ya startled me there." He looked away to pretend he was messing with the machine some more. Loki was giving him a smug look,

"Don't call me that." He grumbled, annoyed. Then he came to stand next to Tony, Tony coughed,

"So, what's up? Did you need something?" he still wasn't looking at Loki and Loki could tell he was flustered about something,

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"Whaaat? NO! Why would you think that?" Tony was making a "pfft" sound. Loki didn't look amused,

"Do not lie to me. I'm the King of Lies." He said. Tony finally looked at him and dropped his little act,

"Ok, yeah, I'm annoyed. But not mad. It's just…"He scratched the back of his head, "How did you do it? How did you not only fix my machine, but made it better than I could have done?" Tony sounded heartbroken. Loki looked surprised,

"Oh!" He looked at the machine, "I didn't mean too!" He looked back at Tony, "I was only trying to help."

"Yeah, well, ya didn't." Tony snapped, and Loki's face changed to that of broken horror. He stared at Tony, mouth open in a shocked frown and tears beginning in his wide eyes. Tony backpedaled,

"Oh, no, Loki. I didn't mean that!" He reached for Loki but Loki's face contorted in rage and he punched Tony right in the face, sending him flying into the wall.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Loki shrieked, "Don't _EVER_ touch me again!" and with that he ran out of the room. Tony slumped onto the floor, cradling the side of his face,

"Dammit Stark." He cursed at himself, "Ya gotta fuck up everything, don't you?"

* * *

><p>Loki went to his and Thor's room and collected all of the clothes that Tony had bought him into a laundry hamper, even the fancy fur coat, then dragged it downstairs to the kitchen. Clint, Peter and Steve were having milkshakes together, seated around the kitchen island, when Loki came in.<p>

"…thinks he can treat _ME_ like that…" Loki was mumbling angrily to himself. He set the hamper down by the stove then clicked on all the burners to full heat. He watched the flames for a minute then began piling everything he had in the hamper unto the stove,

"That prick!" he was still mumbling, "I'll show him…he'll regret it…after all I've given up…everything I've lost…" Steve, Clint, and Peter were staring wide eyed, and Steve was the first to speak,

"UMM…Loki? What…are…you…doing?" He asked. Loki whirled around to face them, he was holding the fur coat in his hands, he looked frenzied but was crying at the same time. He glanced down at the coat, looking like someone had just ripped his heart from his chest, then this strange look of insanity crossed his features and he threw the coat unto the pyre,

"I HATE HIM!" he screamed then began laughing like a hysterical maniac and continued to do so till he left the room. The boys looked at each other, and Peter raised his spoon to them,

"Best guess? Tony." Was all he said and Clint was nodding as they continued to eat their milkshakes. Steve got up and turned off the stove then began trying to put out the fire, but it was too late. The fire alarm came on and with it the water sprinklers,

"AAAWWWWW!" they all groaned in unison as they got soaking wet.

* * *

><p>Tony came upstairs to help clean the water up. Everyone stared at the big, purple bruise that now covered his left cheek, but no one asked anything.<p>

"What made them go off?" Tony asked the others. Steve beckoned Tony to the kitchen and gestured to the stove,

"Loki." He answered. Tony gasped, and gently picked up the now charred black fur coat.

"What did you do?" Steve whispered. Tony didn't look at him. They all heard a sudden loud bang and the sound of glass breaking from upstairs.

"Ohh shit…" Tony dropped the coat and ran up the stairs, the others followed. Tony came to his room and tried to open the door but it was locked. He began pounding on the door with his fist,

"LOKI! Loki, open this door! What are you doing? Com'on! I'm sorry!" He called but the only response was more smashing sounds. Everything went silent and the door suddenly flew open. Loki pressed the end of Steve's titanium baseball bat against Tony's chest and shoved him into the wall; there was unmistakable, possibly murderous, fury in those green eyes. Nobody moved as Loki glared at Tony from across the bat that separated them. Then Loki dropped the bat to the floor and walked away in a rush. Everyone stared after him, then Steve pushed Tony's bedroom door open to peer inside. As expected, everything that could have been smashed into smithereens had been. Tony sighed and covered his eyes with one hand.

"WOW." Peter said, "What the _fuck_ did you do?"

"I think you'd better not go to sleep tonight…"Clint added. Loki wasn't seen for the rest of the day as everyone cleaned the mess he'd created. Steve offered to let Tony stay in his room till they got Tony a new bed, but Tony said he'd stay in his workshop. And that's where he retreated to after dinner, he spent a few minutes sitting on his makeshift bed staring off at nothing, then downed half the bottle of Jack Daniel's he'd brought with him.

* * *

><p>Loki sat on the roof, with his knees pulled into his chest, staring at nothing. He heard the roof access door swing open and closed,<p>

"If you come near me Anthony, I will throw you off this roof!" He hissed. There was a deep chuckle,

"Well I am glad I am not Tony." Thor answered. Loki didn't look at him as he sat down next to Loki. Thor leaned unto his elbows and gazed at the sky,

"I once asked Tony why we cannot see the stars here in New York…" He spoke quietly, which Loki was thankful for, "He explained that the sky is clouded with so much dirt and pollution that it blocks the stars' light," He raised one hand to the sky and Loki felt a gust of wind around them, "But since I am a master of great winds, I believe I could fix that…" The dark sky began to move and swirl then suddenly all the grey smog was swept away and a crystal clear midnight sky twinkled at them. Loki didn't like it, it reminded him of Asgard, but he didn't say anything. Thor was smiling proudly then he turned to Loki and gently took Loki's chin in his hand, turning Loki's face to look him in the eyes,

"See?" He whispered, softly running a thumb across Loki's cheek, "Under all that bad, there is unmatched beauty." Loki's eyes grew wide, this was unexpected, he thought. He tried to pull away from Thor in an effort to avoid what he saw coming, but Thor wrapped an arm around his waist holding him there and kissed him. Loki moaned in disapproval, but Thor obviously took that the wrong way and ran his tongue over Loki's bottom lip. Loki was trying to push him off, but Thor was easily a hundred times stronger than him, so instead he abruptly turned his face, separating them. Thor looked confused.

"What are you doing?" Loki hissed without looking at Thor.

"What do you mean?" Thor sounded more confused than he looked.

"I mean, what are you DOING? You can't do this Thor." Loki snapped angrily. Thor put on his kicked-puppy look,

"I…I thought I could make you feel better…" He let go of Loki.

"Well, yes. But not like _this_." Loki answered gesturing between them. Thor looked down then back at Loki,

"Why? What is wrong?"

"_This_. This is wrong." Loki was still gesturing to them, "Us. Can you imagine what people would say? How they would look at us? We are brothers, Thor. We can't do…this." Loki explained. Thor chuckled,

"We are not _real_ brothers; we are not even the same species. And besides, I do not care what others think. You should know that."

"Well perhaps_ I_ care!" Loki sighed, and Thor looked heartbroken again,

"You make it sound like you do not feel the same way I do…" he said.

"I DON'T, Thor. What made you think that I do?" Loki was exasperated. Thor was angry now,

"This is because of Tony isn't it?" he growled. Loki looked shocked,

"NO! This has nothing to do with Tony! Thor I have NEVER felt that way for you!" he rubbed his temples, "Please, Thor, listen. I love you, but NOT in this way. You are my best friend, my Brother, the one person that has always been there for me, and I cannot imagine life without you. But not like this." Loki tried to be as sweet and soft as he could, "Please. I'm sorry. But I don't feel that way. I want you to stay my best friend." He smiled. Thor looked like he might cry,

"What is the far stretch between best friend and lover?" he asked. Loki shook his head,

"There is a _HUGE_ difference between the two, and you know it." He said sternly. Thor still looked horribly depressed, but nodded and tried to smile. Loki hugged him tenderly,

"I appreciate your effort to cheer me up." He looked up at the sky, "It is beautiful." Thor's eyes never left Loki's face,

"Yes…" was all he whispered. Thor and Loki returned to the living room to find that Nightcrawler had returned, alone.

"What happened?" Loki asked him. Kurt looked very skittish, like he knew he'd let someone down,

"Forgive me, friend. I could not find her. I don't know where she is." He explained. Loki sighed, more good news, he thought. But he smiled at Kurt,

"Thank you. Perhaps we can try again later." he said and Kurt nodded,

"Absolutely! I shall try to find her as quickly as possible." Kurt promised, and Logan came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist,

"In the meantime, we need to head home now." Logan said and Kurt nodded.

"No problem." Steve said, "It was a pleasure having you guys here." Everyone said their good-byes then Kurt and Logan left.

* * *

><p>Tony woke up in a puddle of his own drool on the floor of his workshop, the empty bottle of Daniel's staring him in the face. He groaned and his head began throbbing. A dainty, pale hand suddenly picked up the empty bottle that had been lying on its side in front of Tony,<p>

"You are pathetic." Loki dead-panned. Tony rolled unto his back with a painful moan, but smiled at Loki.

"If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up." He said. Loki lightly kicked his leg,

"You're not dreaming. Get up." He barked. Tony obediently sat up,

"You don't hate me?" Tony asked in the most pitiful little voice ever. Loki sighed,

"I'm still mad. But I don't hate you. And I'm certainly not going to let you kill yourself." He answered as Tony slowly stood up.

"Can I make it up to you? I'll do anything." Tony promised. Loki exhaled and waved his hand in front of his nose,

"Uk! Go take a shower and brush your teeth, that'll be a start." He couldn't help laughing a little. Tony chuckled,

"No problem. Done." He paused, "Could…could I just have a hug?" He asked. Loki gave him a smug pout,

"I suppose that could be allowed." He said exaggeratedly. Tony hugged him fiercely and Loki's anger melted away,

"I am sorry." Tony whispered, "I never meant to say that. I was just jealous."

"I know." Loki soothed him, "I didn't mean to make you jealous. I had no idea." Tony held him at arm's length,

"But seriously, how long how you been working with machines? You should have told me you were that good!" He smiled, Loki gave him a look and shook his head,

"I've never touched a machine before." He shrugged nonchalantly. Tony's mouth dropped,

"Wait, what? You're telling me…you know nothing about electronics and technology…?"

"Mhmm." Loki responded.

"Th…then how did…" Tony stuttered in astonishment, "How did you know what you were doing?" Loki shrugged again,

"Math." He said like it was the least important thing in the world. Tony just stared at him. Loki grabbed him and started pushing him to the door,

"Now go take a shower!" he ordered. Tony rushed through his shower and then through breakfast. Loki cocked an eyebrow as he watched Tony running about getting dressed in a suit with no tie and bright orange Nike's.

"Where are you going?" Loki asked.

"Huh? Oh. Nowhere." Was Tony's vague answer as he came back into the room with a large, heavy-looking bag. Loki sat upon the couch with a new book in his lap and a cup of steaming Earl Grey in one hand. Tony suddenly kissed Loki's forehead and glanced at the book,

"Bye. Wait…" he pulled the book up to look at the title, "Is that the Bible?" He gave Loki a look like he'd just grown a third eye, Loki shrugged,

"I find it interesting." He said, "And good-bye." Loki gave a little wave and went back to his book.

* * *

><p>Tony stumbled in a rush out of the elevator as it finally stopped on the top floor. He shoved his way to the front of the giant, oval table that was imprinted with the S.H.E.I.L.D logo. Nick Fury was giving a speech, something about being the best of the best, blah blah blah, Tony thought. Tony threw his huge bag unto the table, startling Fury and causing him to turn around from his big display screen. Nick cocked an eyebrow at the bag and then at Tony,<p>

"Why are you here, interrupting me, Stark?" He asked casually. Tony held up one finger as he caught his breath, then pointed at the bag,

"Ya gotta see this…" he said breathlessly. Nick sat down and gestured to the bag,

"See what? It better impress me." He looked and sounded as bored as usual. Tony pulled the black bag off of his machine that Loki had completed and smiled at Nick.

"What is it?" Nick asked. Tony cleared his throat,

"Well…um…it's…it's a machine…"he mumbled. Nick did not look amused,

"You built it, and you don't know what it is?" Tony held up a finger again but with a big smile on his face this time,

"I didn't build it. WELL, I started to build it. But Loki finished it. He's pretty much responsible for all of it." He explained.

"Loki did this?" Nick was skeptical. Tony was nodding. "And what does it do?" Nick continued.

"WELLLL…uhh…let's find out!" Tony flipped a switch. Nick's eyes went wide,

"Wait…WHAT!" he jumped as if to stop Tony. It was like all the gravity in the room was suddenly sucked out; everyone and everything began floating around.

"WOAH!" Tony cheered. Nick looked like he was going to strangle Tony,

"You had no idea what it would do! SO YOU TURNED IT ON! Are you out YO damn mind!" He hollered. Tony laughed,

"Nick, your ghetto is showing." He pointed at Nick in mock accusation, "So it's an anti-gravity field generator! Cool! No big deal." Tony shrugged as he floated his way back to the machine and turned it off. Everything abruptly crashed to the floor. Nick straightened himself out and took a deep breath,

"Alright. It's impressive. So what do you want, Stark?" Tony started making "pfft!" sounds,

"Whaaat? Why would you think…?"

"You wouldn't have brought this here if you didn't want something from me. So spit it out already." Nick ordered. Tony sighed,

"Ok, yeah. I'll give you this," he gestured to the machine, "And all the tech, which is Loki's tech by the way, in exchange for a favor…" he paused to look around for a second, "I want you to take Loki off the house arrest. For just one night." Nick was raising his eyebrow again,

"One night? What the hell for?" he asked. Tony coughed nervously, looking awkward all the sudden,

"I…ah…I wanna…" he blushed, "I wanna take him…out. Ya know, like…a date…" he stuttered. This threw Nick off, the usually always "swag" Tony Stark was now reduced to a stuttering teenager.

"Wait…you want to take a supervillian, who's also a man…out on a date?" Nick clarified.

"Yeesss?" Tony answered like it was a trick question. Nick made a "hmph" noise at Tony,

"And you think this machine, that Loki built, will be enough for that?" Tony sighed,

"What more do you want?"

"What more are you willing to give up?" Nick smiled wickedly.

"Typical!" Tony threw his hands up.

"Then take your garbage and leave." Nick retorted. Tony stared at him miserably,

"You want my Iron Man tech." it wasn't a question and Nick nodded. Tony sighed again, "No. You can have whatever else you want." Nick pouted for a minute,

"The Quinjet tech." He finally said, "Final deal." Tony waved a hand and headed for the door,

"FINE!" he surrendered. Nick smiled victoriously,

"Enjoy your date, Stark."

Tony made it home in time for lunch. An agent had come with him to remove the band from Loki's leg. They found Loki and the others in the kitchen, eating pizza. Loki made a surprised sound when the S.H.E.I.L.D. agent suddenly grabbed his leg, typed in a code, then pulled off the black band and left. Everyone, even Loki, looked to Tony in confusion. Tony cleared his throat but held a huge smile on his face,

"SOO, pizza huh?" He grabbed three slices then left the room. Loki followed instantly, grabbing Tony by the shoulder when they entered the living room and turning him around,

"What did you do?" He asked in excitement. Tony frowned slightly,

"It's just for one night." He confessed.

"But why?" Loki still stared at him wide-eyed.

"I…um…I want to…" he was blushing again, "Well, would you…go out with me?" he asked. Loki's jaw dropped and he just stared at Tony for a while, Tony started looking at the ground uncomfortably,

"You got me off house arrest…to go…on a date with me…?" Loki sounded as astonished as he looked with his eyebrows against his hairline. Tony just smiled.

"Yeah." There was childish excitement sparkling in his eyes.

"What did you have to do? To get this?" Loki's expression now changed to one of worry. Tony waved a hand nonchalantly,

"I gave Nick the machine you built and the tech for my Quinjet. But it doesn't matter. Will you go? With me? Please?" Loki's faced softened to an honest smile,

"Of course. After you've gone through all the trouble, how can I say no?" he said. Tony gave him a stern look,

"NO. I don't want you to go just because I "went through the trouble". I want you to go out with me because _YOU _want to." He said. Loki looked at him like he was an idiot,

"Since when do I do things that I DON'T want to do?" he rolled his eyes, "If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have said yes. I was simply justifying my answer, you twit." He laughed.

"OH. Well don't do that. Just say yes." Tony smiled and began eating his pizza. Tony paused by the couch to pick up a black bag that was laying over the back of the couch, "And since you burned your entire wardrobe…"he said as he handed this bag to Loki, "I bought you something to wear tonight." He smiled with a mouth full of pizza. Loki gave him an amused look,

"You bought me an outfit…BEFORE you asked me out?" he laughed, "You are very unorthodox." They laughed together,

"That's just how I roll baby." He winked at Loki and Loki rolled his eyes dramatically, "Soo, be ready by seven?" Tony said as he went back down to his workshop. Loki didn't bother to answer, he just took the clothes to his room and unzipped the bag. He daintily removed the fabrics, as if they would turn to dust if he wasn't too careful, then laid them flat on the bed. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but he was sure it wasn't this. The suit was fairly simple, but elegant, and probably British. The pants were just black, a long sleeve, crisp white, button up shirt with a thin black tie, then a black vest. There was also a white, leather belt, and black shoes to match.

"Well this is dapper." Loki laughed to himself. There were still many hours before he'd need to be ready so he returned to the living room to find only Peter there, playing his videogames. Peter glanced at him for a second,

"Wanna play with me?" he asked. Loki was startled by this question, despite how long he'd been staying here most the others just avoided him and had certainly never invited him to an activity with them. But Peter was different, maybe because he was so much younger. Loki smiled,

"Sure." He answered enthusiastically then sat down in front of the TV next to Peter, "What do I do?" he asked. Peter handed him another controller.

"Game's called Mortal Kombat. You pick a character then we fight to the death. Totally simple." Peter smiled at him.

"Alright." Loki chuckled in amusement. Loki lost the first couple rounds, but didn't mind because he was watching Peter and learning how to use the controls properly. Loki assumed that Peter didn't teach him how to use the controls on purpose, but Loki was sure he'd best Peter anyways. Clint and Bruce were now on the couch casually chatting and watching the game going on,

"Aww com'on Loki! Ya could'ave got him!" Clint shouted. Loki glared at the screen,

"Excuse me" he retorted, "No backseat driving." They all laughed. Loki finally won a fight and Peter gave him a look,

"That was just luck." He said. Loki laughed,

"No, my luck left me along with my powers. I would call that _skills_." He said in triumph and there was a chorus of "OOHHHH!" from the couch. Peter playfully punched Loki in the arm,

"Oh yeah? Then do it again?" he dared. And sure enough, Loki did it again, and again, and again. Peter finally threw the controller down in defeat,

"FINE! I'm done!" he shouted in frustration. Loki laughed, and smiled wholeheartedly at Peter,

"That was fun. Thank you." He said and there was a sparkle of honest joy in his big green eyes. Peter smiled back,

"Wanna play something else?" he offered. Loki nodded with vigor. Peter took a few minutes to change the game and give Loki a different controller,

"This one's called Resident Evil 5, we get to work together in this one and kill armies of zombies." He explained, then gave Loki a mischievous grin, "You can be the girl." There was more laughing from the couch. Loki shrugged one shoulder,

"Why would I find that insulting? Women tend to get whatever they want." He countered with his own wicked grin.

"Yeah, well, I was making fun of you…"Peter pointed at him, "Cause you look like a girl." Loki continued to grin,

"Thank you." He responded and left Peter in a flurry of confusion but Peter didn't respond. The afternoon passed in much the same fashion, Peter spent the time showing Loki all sorts of different games and good strategies to beat them. Loki smiled and listened, having more fun than he'd had in hundreds of years and actually feeling accepted by someone since he'd first moved in. It was different with Tony, it was…complicated, but with Peter it was completely honest and innocent. Before Loki knew it, it was six twenty in the evening and he had to get off the videogames. He casually said goodnight to Peter and went to his room to take a quick shower. He blow-dried and straightened his hair, which took half an hour all together, then gently pulled on the outfit Tony had bought him. He was amazed that the suit, including the shoes, fit him perfectly. How did Tony know his sizes so well? He wondered. He smoothed his hands over the vest as he surveyed himself in the mirror. He decided he didn't like the long sleeves, so he rolled them up past his elbows and found them much more comfortable that way. He glanced at the clock and winced; he was a minute late. He went down the stairs looking for Tony but instead ran into Steve,

"Oh!" Steve exclaimed, "Where are you going?" he was looking Loki up and down suspiciously.

"Tony is taking me out." Loki answered sounding bored, he didn't particularly like talking to Steve because Steve was constantly looking for a reason to accuse Loki of something.

"Tony's what? Is that why that agent took you off house arrest? So Tony could take you out?" he sounded appalled, "Where is he? I'm gonna…"

"Chill, Captain Righteous." Tony said as he entered the room, "It's only for tonight, then he goes back on arrest tomorrow." He walked right past Steve to stand in front of Loki and smile fondly,

"Damn," he said looking Loki up and down, "That looks a lot better on you than it did on the hanger." He winked. Loki rolled his eyes then gave Tony a look of slight confusion,

"I don't get it…so we are going on a date…" he gestured to both of them, "Both as men? Isn't that strange?" Loki asked and Tony laughed,

"NAH. We have a word for that here on earth…" he threw an arm over Loki's shoulder, "_Homosexuality_." He said as he swept his hand in a grand arc in front of Loki's face. Loki nodded,

"Oh, I see." He smiled, "That makes better since." Tony suddenly slapped Loki's ass and headed for the front door,

"Com'on sexy, let's get a move on." He said as he held the door open for Loki. Loki was rubbing the cheek that Tony had just desecrated and giving Tony an insulted glare. Tony chuckled and gestured to the door,

"Come on." He urged. Loki snorted but stepped outside. Tony waved to Steve,

"Later." Then closed the front door behind him. They hopped into the back of a sleek black car and Tony gave directions to the driver.

"So what did you do all day?" Tony asked. Loki was polished his nails on his shirt,

"I played videogames with Peter." He answered without looking up from his fingernails. Tony nodded then asked the driver to turn on some music. They sat quietly the rest of the drive. Loki finally looked up when the car stopped outside this grand building. He turned to Tony,

"What is this place?" he asked as the driver opened his side door. Tony whistled,

"Oh, only the most expensive place to eat in Manhattan." He smiled. There was a red carpet stretching from the street, up some stairs, and to huge glass double doors. Gold letters written across the glass read Harry Cipriani. There were security guards and bouncers all over the place. Tony gently placed a hand on Loki's lower back at led them to the front doors where a snobby looking woman was holding a reservations book,

"Name?" she barked.

"Tony Stark. And guest." Tony answered. The woman checked off something on her paper and nodded,

"This way please." She led them inside and to a nice round table, suited for two and out of the way, giving them some privacy. Two men held the chairs till Loki and Tony sat down then gently pushed them in and walked away. Loki was gazing around, mouth agape, and eyes twinkling with a sort of excited innocence. For a building on earth, its glory and immense beauty could rival that of Asgard.

"Wow." Loki gasped then looked at Tony with a huge grin, "This place is amazing!"

"Glad you like." Tony was just watching Loki, "I thought it'd only be appropriate to take you somewhere fit for a king." He smiled. Loki's face lit up even more at Tony's comment. Tony felt Loki's foot suddenly rubbing his leg and Loki leaned over the table to get closer to Tony,

"You really know how to turn a narcissistic, world-dominating supervillian on." He said in a low voice, the taint of lust burning in his eyes. Tony choked on his water and a full blush colored his face. Just then the waiter decided to show up,

"Good evening gentlemen. I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" he asked.

Loki easily flipped over his menu and pointed to something,

"The Bellini, please." He responded and the waiter turned to Tony. Tony faltered,

"Oh, ah, whatever he's having." He said in a rush, he hadn't even looked at the menu yet. The waiter nodded and left.

"So, what was that about you being turned on?" Tony gave him a cheeky grin, and Loki laughed. The waiter returned with their drinks and asked if they knew what they wanted, Loki responded by asking for the most expensive thing on the menu and Tony just pointed at something. Neither of them were truly interested in eating. They spoke of casual things and at some point Tony had reached across the table to lace his fingers threw Loki's. Loki would pick at his food every now and then and Tony would just stare at him like he was the most amazing thing in the universe. Loki looked up at Tony and blushed,

"I'm sure there are people looking at us…would you not stare so obviously…?" he asked shyly. Tony chuckled like a little kid,

"Who cares?" he shrugged. Suddenly the flash of a camera blinded them both and a blond woman was grinning at them,

"Good evening Mr. Stark." She spoke in a sarcastic ultra-bitch tone, "How interesting to find _you_ here." She watched them both squirm uncomfortably, "And on a date no less?" She gave Loki a nasty look and he saw crazed envy in her eyes. He suddenly stood up to leave,

"I'm done." He said, Tony jumped,

"WHAAAT! No!" He turned on the woman and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, "Get the _FUCK_ away!" he snatched the camera and smashed it with all the force he could muster against the table then shoved the woman unto her ass. He was panting with fury. The woman looked horrified as she scrabbled to her feet and _ran _from them. Tony took a deep breath and sat down. Loki stood there staring at Tony, his eyes looked like they were gonna pop out of his head. He'd _never_ seen such rage from Tony Stark before. Tony smiled at him sheepishly,

"Please don't go." He begged. Loki's eyebrows pulled together in concern, but he sat down,

"What was that?" he asked gesturing to the many pieces of camera that littered the floor now. Tony snorted,

"I'm not letting some paparazzi bitch ruin my date!" he growled. Loki was still looking at him with worry, but was flattered by Tony at the same time. Tony sighed,

"Ya know what? Let's just go. I have better places to show you." He said as he rose to his feet, he dropped a _very_ large wad of cash unto the tabletop then gently took Loki's hand and they left. Even though it was late into the night it was very warm out because of the lingering summer afternoon heat. They walked across the street to Central Park, laughing about the look on that woman's face when Tony had yelled at her. Loki removed his vest and carried it over his shoulder. They came to a small pond and sat down on a large rock.

"So where else were we going to go?" Loki asked, Tony was tossing pebbles into the water.

"Eh." He shrugged, "We got time. We'll go later. Don't worry about it." Loki chuckled as he laid back and stared at the sky, he frowned as he saw that it was still crystal clear and millions of beautiful star and nebulae twinkled at him. Tony must have asked Thor to clear the sky for them tonight, which meant Thor knew about their date and would be in a sad mood. Loki was pulled from his thoughts as Tony lay next to him and laced their fingers together again.

"What are you going to do?" Tony asked, "I mean, after you get your powers back." Loki sighed,

"That's _IF_ I ever get them back. And I don't know." Loki confessed, "I guess if I don't get them back I'll continue to live with you."

"Well, you can stay with me no matter what." Tony said softly and Loki noted how he'd said "me" not "us". Loki turned his head to look at Tony,

"What is this? Us, I mean. What are we now?" he asked. Tony chuckled,

"Um..boyfriends?" he said, that sweet, childish spark was dancing in his eyes again, like he'd just been given the coolest toy in existence. Loki smiled despite himself.

"And do you really think this will last?" he asked. Tony frowned,

"Why not?" then he grinned again, "You plan on frying my ass?" he joked. Loki laughed.

"Maybe." He said with a mock sinister look, "I guess you'll just have to find out." Tony scooted closer and rested his head on Loki's shoulder and in turn Loki placed his cheek against Tony's head. They laid there silently as Loki continued to stare at the sky and Tony still threw pebbles at the water. Loki started humming softly to himself. Tony yawned.

"Alright, now you're gonna put me to sleep." He grumbled playfully, Loki laughed,

"Should I sing you to sleep?" he asked

"Not yet. We got places to go…" Tony mumbled sleepily.

"You know…that I adore you…" Loki began singing* as he ran elegant fingers through Tony's hair, "You know…that I love you…" Tony yawned again,

"You do?" he joked. Loki lightly smacked him on the head. Tony sat up quickly,

"No sleeping in the park!" he said as he stood up and brushed himself off, "Come on. Just one more place to go. We're gonna have fun tonight." He gave a grand smile. Loki looked at him nervously,

"I'm not sure if I like the sound of that…" he said, but Tony grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the street where the driver was waiting. They hopped in,

"You know where to go!" Tony told the driver and the man laughed,

"Of course, sir." He said and they were off. They came to a more secluded building with crazy flashing and neon lights everywhere. There was a line of people stretching all the way down the block and a bouncer with a check list at the front door. Tony took Loki to the front of the line and smiled at the bouncer. Loki had to actually _look up_ into this man's face, this guy could be Heimdall's twin, Loki thought in astonishment. The man smiled at them,

"Good 'ole Tony Stark!" he greeted them and pulled the red barrier out of their way, "Go on in, man! Have a good time." Tony handed the man a wad of cash,

"Thanks buddy! You're the best." He said and pulled Loki through the door. It was very dark inside, with more flashing lights, a rainbow colored dance floor that was packed wall-to-wall, and a long bar at the far side that was lit up by white lights under the counter. The bartender was a woman with bright green dreadlocks, big faux eyelashes, and a silver ring through her black lips. She grinned when she saw Tony,

"Hey you!" she called over the pounding music. Tony and Loki sat down at the bar,

"Hey there sugar. The usual for me and…" he looked at Loki for a second then back at the girl, "An apple martini for him." He grinned. She nodded and got to work making their drinks. Loki didn't look like he was enjoying this place at all, he had his hands over his ears and was glaring pitifully at Tony. Tony laughed and gently pulled Loki's hands down to lean into his ear,

"You'll get used to it! Just drink!" Tony shouted over the noise. Loki didn't look amused, and Tony began wondering if he'd made a mistake in bringing him here. Their drinks appeared,

"Enjoy!" the girl said and went to serve someone else. Loki literally just grabbed the glass and downed the whole thing before Tony had even picked his drink up. Tony stared at him.

"If I'm gonna have to drink for this, you'd better order _a lot_ more." Loki said and they both laughed. And so Tony told the bartender to keep the drinks coming and just throw it on his tab, pretty soon they were giggling like teenaged girls about nothing in particular. Tony finished another drink then grabbed Loki's arm,

"Come on! Dance!" he shouted as he pulled Loki to the rainbow floor. Loki had no idea what was considered dancing here on Earth, but he was drunk enough to not care either. He quickly picked up on the sensual, yet obscene, grinding that had somehow been deemed dancing and then they were making out like everyone else. When Tony was finally falling on the floor because he couldn't stand up anymore they decided it was time to go home. The driver was again waiting for them outside and he helped them into the car.

"Fly ush shoo the moon!" Tony slurred and Loki giggled,

"No thank you, just go home please." He said and the driver laughed,

"Not a problem."

Somehow they managed to get through the front door and down to Tony's workshop in one piece. Then Tony began to uncontrollably grope and rub Loki. Loki used one arm to shove everything off Tony's worktable unto the floor, then easily pushed Tony unto the table and straddled him. Tony wanted to just rip all of Loki's clothes off, but even in his drunken stupor knew he wasn't strong enough, so he pulled at Loki's shirt and moaned. Loki got the hint and easily pulled the shirt over his head then did the same to Tony. He laid himself flush against Tony and gently grinded their hips together, Tony bucked roughly into him and he unceremoniously shoved his tongue into Tony's mouth. Loki worked his way down; nibbling on Tony's ears and biting his neck, then licking down to the glowing blue device imbedded in Tony's chest. He softly kissed the skin there and even ran his tongue along the rim of the metal. He went further down taking time to undo Tony's belt and pants then shoving them off his ankles. Tony blushed at his sudden nakedness, but Loki only chuckled and wrapped his thin elegant fingers around Tony's cock and leaned down to begin licking it. Tony moaned obscenely at the sudden contact and his hands searched for something to hold onto, he finally settled on gripping the edge of the table with one hand and Loki's thigh in the other. Loki was on his knees with his legs by Tony's side, Tony was now digging his fingernails in the soft fabric of Loki's inner thigh then moving higher to gently rub Loki between his legs. Loki lowered his hand to cup Tony's nuts as he finally went down on him, plenty of years of practice made it easy for Loki to take the entire length into his throat, and Tony cursed lustfully. Loki pulled off with a vulgar wet sucking sound then moved to look Tony in the eyes, he gripped Tony's chin,

"Tony. Listen to me." He demanded, Tony sobered up enough to focus on Loki, "If I do this…" Tony saw desperation on that angel face and…fear? Loki looked terrified, Tony made sure to listen intently,

"If I do this with you…" Loki was whispering now, "Don't hurt me." He said, and Tony knew that Loki wasn't talking about physical pain. Tony nodded,

"Loki, I…" he began to speak but Loki suddenly put a finger to his mouth,

"No! I don't want promises." He said, "As soon as you put it in a promise you are bound to break it. Just know well, that if you do hurt me, I will kill you." There was not a hint of jest in his tone, so Tony simple nodded because he fully believed that Loki _would_ kill him. With that, Loki sat up and removed his pants, the last piece of fabric separating them, then lay upon Tony again. Tony arched into him as he felt their cocks collide against each other. They grinded into each other and chewed each others lips till they were both all sticky with pre-cum. Loki moved forward and Tony tensed,

"You're just gonna…?" he tried to halt Loki's movements but Loki gave him a look,

"Shut up." He said and Tony thought those words sounded strange on Loki's lips, "I know what I'm doing." He continued then shoved two fingers into Tony's mouth. Tony understood and began sucking on the fingers, lolling his tongue around, making sure to get them wet. Loki removed his fingers from Tony's mouth and easily reached back to insert them into himself. Tony was the one to moan and arch into Loki, which made Loki laugh. He took care to thoroughly wet and stretch himself, but since Tony's cock was still all wet from Loki's saliva and pre-cum, it went in without trouble. Tony threw his head back and cursed some more,

"Uhh...fuck me…" he moaned, Loki laughed again,

"I'm working on it." He breathed into Tony's ear. Loki leaned over Tony, placing his hands on either side of Tony's shoulders, and began to gently rock forward and back. They were slow and tender at first but quickly progressed into table-creaking, wet slapping, obnoxious moaning, and the occasional scream. Loki was really glad the workshop was sound-proof because he was certain that if it wasn't the entire mansion would hear them. Loki wasn't the least bit surprised that Tony came first; his whole body went tense and he panted loudly, gripping Loki's hips like they were all that anchored him to this world. They both stopped moving and just breathed, but Tony didn't wait to long before taking Loki's cock in his hand to coax Loki the rest of the way. Tony's stomach was suddenly coated in warm, sticky fluid as Loki moaned in earnest. Then they both went completely limp and Loki collapsed against Tony's chest. No words were said as they passed out together from exhaustion.

* * *

><p><strong>Sidenotes<strong>: *the song Loki is singing at this part is "Come to Me" by Bjork. It's a cute little love song and I really love Bjork so it fits.

And the outfit Loki wears on their date was inspired by a picture drawn by Ina on Tumblr, just go look at my profile for the link to it.

ONE LAST THING, a special thanks to reader Lexicon who's reviews were very helpful to me. DANKE!


	8. Chapter 8

When Tony woke up, he was face down on the hard, cold floor…again. But the first thing that really registered to him was that he was completely naked. He groaned as he pulled himself off the floor and viewed the mess of his equipment scattered about. He turned to the workshop table and gasped; Loki lay upon the table, curled on his side, breathing deeply, and naked as well. The memories of the previous night came flooding back like a dam just broke in his mind and he groaned again. They'd both been drunk out of their minds and Tony could already imagine the fury that Loki would unleash on him. He stood there for a minute debating with himself on whether he should wake Loki up or run away, he settled on finding his pants. After he had himself covered up he picked up the quilt from his mattress on the floor and softly laid it over Loki's lean form then kissed Loki's temple,

"Please don't be mad at me…" he whispered to the sleeping man, and then began cleaning up the mess all over the floor. After he had most of last nights' disaster taken care of he heard Loki take a deep breath and yawn, Tony did his best to just smile sweetly at Loki. Loki stretched like a cat then sat up on Tony's table, he made a face at some soreness that made itself present but ignored it,

"Good morning." He said to Tony, who was looking very on-edge, "What is wrong?" he added. Tony was hesitant,

"You're not mad?" he asked. Loki's eyebrows bunched up in a combination of confusion and annoyance,

"Should I be? What have you done?"

Tony was pointing at him in similar confusion, "You…we…I mean…" he scratched his head, "Do you remember last night at all?" he tried. Loki laughed deeply,

"Yes." There was something playful shining in his eyes. Tony relaxed,

"Oh." He blushed, "So…it's ok…?" Loki was nodding. Loki got up and pulled his previously rejected pants on then helped Tony finish cleaning. They both retreated to a warm shower before entering the living room and finding Nick Fury seated with the others. Nick looked up at them,

"How was the date, Stark?" he teased. Well he's in a good mood, Tony thought, but didn't answer the question. Nick stood up and went to stand in front of Loki. Loki's appearance was calm but Tony saw the energy in his eyes, like a snake about to strike but showing no outward signs of agitation. Tony knew that Fury made Loki very uneasy. Fury actually smiled at Loki,

"I came to congratulate you on your machine." He said coolly, "I had my best men dissect and analyze it and we were all very blown away. And if what Tony says is true and you built it…?" he paused for Loki to answer, Loki simply nodded once, "Then I'd like to offer you a job." Nick concluded. All the Avengers and Loki dropped their jaws. Steve erupted in a fury,

"WHAT! Sir, forgive my boldness, but I DO NOT AGREE!" he pointed at Loki accusingly, "He has certainly NOT earned enough trust for that!" Nick held up a hand to silence him,

"That is ultimately my decision." He said to Steve then turned back to Loki, "He won't be leaving my sight, ever. He'll be working alongside me as a sort of…assistant. We need minds like yours, Loki, and if you're pure about wanting to change, then this would be a good start." Nick was waiting for Loki's answer. Loki was truly startled by this offer, but showed no sign of it. He looked down at the floor and began tapping a single polished fingertip against his bottom lip as he considered the offer. He looked at Tony who in turn gave him a look of concern. Loki sighed; they were all looking at him. Nick sensed his uncertainty, so he spoke further on the subject,

"Of course if you accept you will have to become a fully certified S.H.E.I.L.D agent, like Black Widow and Hawkeye." He raised an eyebrow to Loki, urging him on.

"You trust me?" Loki wondered. Nick snorted,

"Not even to feed my cat. But trust isn't the issue here, you're super-genius brain is." He answered. Loki nodded in understanding,

"What, exactly, would you have me doing?" Loki asked. Nick shrugged one shoulder,

"Anything. Strategy planning, mechanical repairs, technological advancement, genetics…" he gave Loki another complacent shrug, "The list goes on." Loki was trailing his fingers over his lips in thought, he wanted to get Tony's opinion on the matter, but maybe it was better if he didn't. Nick sighed, obviously tired of waiting,

"And you'll be paid." He offered. Loki's lips twitched in amusement,

"I have no use for your currency." He said, "You really want me to do it, don't you?" he narrowed his eyes at Nick.

"Like I said, we need all the geniuses we can get." Nick was checking his phone.

"Alright." Loki finally said and Nick paused to see if Loki was jesting, "I'll do it." There was still the appearance of mischief dancing in those eyes. Nick's shoulders dropped slightly,

"What do you want?" he'd gotten so used to asking that. Loki's grin widened, and Tony shivered; how many victims had seen that sick, twisted grin as their last moment alive? Tony wondered.

"I wish to no longer be treated like a criminal. No house arrest, no parole officer, no therapist, no anything." Loki commanded.

"The therapist stays." Nick countered, and both men glared at each other for a minute,

"Fine." Loki answered with a wave of his delicate hand, like it was unimportant to him either way. Nick extended a hand to Loki, Loki glanced at it for a second then shook it with all the strength he still had,

"Welcome to the team, agent." Nick said and Loki's lips twitched again as he raised an eyebrow at the term,

"Indeed." He breathed, indifference plastered to his face yet again. Nick turned to leave,

"I'll send someone to pick you up when your first day rolls around." He added then was gone. Steve threw his hands up,

"I can't believe this…" he mumbled angrily as he stormed out of the room. Natasha was also shaking her head but she said nothing. Peter and Tony were both excited;

"WOAH!" Peter cheered, "Secret Agent Loki!" he teased as he poked Loki in the arm repeatedly. Loki swatted him off,

"We shall see." Loki replied. Tony was still concerned,

"I get a bad feeling about this." He said, "Like, not because of you, but Nick…" he glanced to the door as if he'd find Nick standing there glaring at him, "…I'm not sure if I trust _him._" He whispered. Loki hummed in agreement,

"But I am willing to help wherever I am needed." Loki said firmly. Tony smiled,

"It's good to hear that." He gave Loki's shoulder a friendly squeeze, "Oh!" he exclaimed, "I almost forgot…" he began digging through his pockets and pulled out a sleek little device, "I bought you a cellphone." He smiled and handed the little machine to Loki. Loki made a face of approval,

"Thank you. Now, how about you buy me some breakfast." He grinned, all wickedness gone, to be replaced by honest friendliness. Tony laughed,

"Typical! One night and now you want all my money!" he joked but grabbed his car keys and began twirling them on his finger, "Let's go then." He opened the door. Loki was still laughing as they left. Tony parked outside a Starbucks, slipped on his ultra-awesome shades and winked at himself in the rear-view mirror, then stepped around the car to open Loki's door. Even in just jeans and a leather jacket, Loki stepped out of that car like he was indestructible; all poise and perfection. Tony stuck his tongue in his cheek and waggled his eyebrows, Loki rolled his eyes. Loki didn't even bother going up to the counter, instead he stepped over to a nice little table in the corner that was occupied by two girls. He laid his arms upon the tabletop, leaning down to the girls' level, and smiled at them, feigning innocence,

"I want this table." He tapped a fingernail on the tabletop, "That means you need to go away." He said casually, the girls looked at each other in confusion then back at him, "Tsk tsk." Loki waved a finger at them, "Don't make this difficult for yourselves." His eyebrows went up as he gazed at them a moment longer, but when neither of them showed a sign of moving his brow pulled down in aggravation. He sighed dramatically and slammed his fist on the table, "Move it!" he barked and the girls jumped, they didn't say anything as they grabbed their things and rushed out of the bistro. Loki smiled to himself and sat down, crossing one leg over the other, and began polishing his nails against his shirt till he could see his own reflection in the smooth black surfaces. Tony sat down with two coffees and a whole coffeecake; he was glancing between the door and Loki,

"What did you say to those girls?" he asked. Loki grinned,

"Oh, nothing. I just convinced them to give us this table." He answered without looking away from his ever-growing black nails.

"Huh." Tony said as he took a bite of coffeecake, "Sure looked like you threatened to rape them or something." They both laughed but then Tony paused,

"You've never done that right…?" he wondered. Loki looked at him from over his coffee,

"Done what?" he mumbled as he took a sip.

"Raped someone." Tony was giving him a cautious gaze. Loki chuckled,

"Never needed to." He said nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah?" Tony was smiling suggestively, "That's pretty _cocky_ of you." He laughed and slapped his own knee. Loki rolled his eyes again and covered them with one hand but couldn't help the smile that curved his lips. They enjoyed their breakfast in between fits of laughter and idle romantic gazing, the former from Tony alone. Tony frowned suddenly as he saw the two girls from before returning, now with two men, and they were pointing at Loki.

"Oh shit." He cursed, a look of regret shaping his face. Loki looked up from his coffee and took in Tony's gaze, he turned in his chair to see what Tony was looking at, and the two men were standing there now. Loki just blinked at them,

"Can I help you?" he snapped, like their very existence offended him. One of them grabbed Loki by the collar, pulling him out of his seat and sending coffee everywhere,

"Yeah." The man growled, "Let's step outside." He dragged the startled Loki out of the coffee shop with Tony and the other man close behind. The girls were standing next to each other, arms crossed over their chests, with victorious little smirks on their faces. The one carrying Loki threw him unto the ground.

"Aww guys, com'on." Tony defended, "Can't we settle this another way? I'll give you cash?" He begged as he pulled out his wallet. He really did not want to watch Loki get the shit beat out of him. But Loki stood up, chuckling, and smiled at both men,

"Have at thee, then." He said with his own wicked smirk stretching his face, big green eyes twinkling with excitement and a sort of bloodlust. One man went to grab his arms as the other threw his fist toward Loki's face. Typical, Loki thought, and he ducked. The first man's fist collided with the others face and Loki slipped behind the first man to kick him in the knees. Both men were on the ground moaning in pain and only a second had flown by. Loki laughed,

"Pathetic. Perhaps try again after you've had a thousand years of training in the art of silent killing." He laughed again then turned on the girls,

"As for you, if you're going to depend on your men to defend you I suggest you find ones that can actually fight. Otherwise learn to defend yourselves." He instructed then gently took Tony by the arm and returned to the bistro.

"I'm so hot for you right now." Tony breathed into Loki's ear, "That was awesome. I thought they were gonna cream you." Loki gasped, throwing his hand up to his throat, and putting on a face of false heartbreak,

"Oh ye of little faith!" he exclaimed, "You think because I have no power that I cannot defend myself? That hurts. I'll have you know I was taking down frost giants alongside Thor before either of us was old enough to be allowed to wield swords, or magic for that matter." He smiled. Tony put his hands up in playful defense,

"My bad!" he laughed, "I forgot you're the God of Badassery*." Loki laughed at the term,

"Indeed." He nodded. They finished their breakfast in peace and returned home. Peter greeted them enthusiastically,

"HEY LOKI! I bought you something too!" he said through fits of giggles, Loki cocked an eyebrow,

"Oh?" he inquired. Peter nodded,

"Yeah…A KILT!" he busted into obnoxious laughter*. Tony cracked up as well. Loki looked hopelessly lost.

"A what?" he asked. Tony shook his head,

"He's just making fun of your hair again, don't worry about it." He giggled. Peter was on the floor laughing through tears. Loki didn't look amused. Thor was standing behind Peter shaking his head then he looked at Loki and shrugged,

"I did not understand the jest either." He confessed. Loki stepped up to Thor and handed him a Starbuck's mug with a look of tenderness in his eyes,

"I brought you some fancy coffee, since I know how much you enjoy the beverage." Loki's voice was soft. Thor smiled like he'd just been handed the universe,

"Thank you." He whispered, and Loki assumed he wasn't exactly being thanked for the coffee. He just smiled. Loki made himself comfortable on the couch, making sure to leave no room for anyone else to sit down, and flipped through the contacts of his new cellphone. When he located the person he was looking for he pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear, it was picked up after only one ring.

"Guten tag! Kurt Wagner speaking." Came the heavily accented man's voice. Loki smiled,

"Hello Kurt. How are you, dear?" he asked while gazing into his fingernails again.

"Loki! I am wonderful!" Loki could hear the smile in Kurt's voice and laughed at how the word "wonderful" came out as "vunderful". "And you?" Kurt asked.

"Quite well. I am no longer an enemy of earth, as of this morning. So I think that's progress. But how about your friend Amanda? Any luck in finding the lady?" he asked. Kurt sighed.

"Nein, my friend. No luck. But I'm glad to hear you have chosen to embrace the light side!" he laughed whole-heartedly, and Loki recalled that Tony had told him of Kurt's Star Wars fandom. He chuckled again,

"I'm giving it the best I've got. But you know the dark side has cookies and club t-shirts." He joked. Kurt laughed again.

"Who you chatting up, Furball?" came the voice of Wolverine in the background, "Loki." Kurt answered as he turned his face from the receiver. A thought occurred to Loki,

"Kurt?" he called and Kurt hummed in reply, "Are you and Logan…together?" He asked. There wasn't an answer for a few minutes,

"Well…I suppose you could say that." Kurt finally said. Loki nodded to himself,

"Mhmm. I thought he was awfully touchy with you." He teased, "So is this whole homosexual thing normal here on Midgard?" Loki wondered. Kurt laughed again,

"It has become more widely accepted in modern times. Why? How is it in Asgard?" Kurt asked,

"Well it happens occasionally, but we never really had a word for it." Loki answered absently, "Except, maybe…sodomy." He added as an afterthought. Kurt's laugh was a lot more uncomfortable at that comment. There was an awkward silence after that. Kurt cleared his throat,

"So does this mean you are off house arrest?" he asked.

"Mhmm." Loki was still staring into his nails as if they held the secrets to the universe.

"Wunderbar!" Kurt exclaimed and Loki winced away from the phone, "Then you should come out with me und Logan!" Kurt suggested. Loki noted that the more excited Kurt got, the worse his English became. Loki considered the suggestion for a minute and glanced at Tony who was standing at the foot of the couch eating a bowl of cereal.

"Sure. Why not." He said.

"Awesome!" Kurt said then he turned from the receiver again to say something in German to Logan. Loki heard Logan grunt in reply. "Tonight? Or should I wait for you to call me back?" Kurt was asking.

"Yes, I'll let you know." Loki agreed, and then said good-bye. Tony looked at him with interest,

"Nightcrawler?" he guessed and Loki nodded, "Any luck with his sorceress friend?" he asked through a mouth of cereal. Loki shook his head and then glared at Tony,

"Are you eating cereal for lunch?" he asked, his tone suggested that it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen.

"Hey! Cereal can be eaten anytime of the day!" Tony defended. Loki got up and took the bowl from Tony, placing it upon the coffee table and leaning into Tony's ear,

"You what else can be eaten anytime of the day?" he whispered suggestively and felt Tony's whole body shiver. He grabbed Tony by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down the workshop. Peter watched them leave then turned to the others,

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they're more than friends now." He said. There was a sudden smashing sound and everyone turned to see that Thor had just put his fist through the wall, he glared at the floor, face red in rage, then stormed out the front door.

"Was it something I said?" Peter squeaked.

Thor flew to the S.H.E.I.L.D helicarrier and let himself into Nick Fury's office. He slammed his Avengers badge unto the desk. Nick looked at it then up at Thor.

"I am finished." Thor said, he was breathing rather heavily and Nick could almost feel the rage coming off of the larger man. Nick leaned back in his chair, crossed his fingers over his lap, and regarded Thor with an interested gaze,

"Might I ask why?" he spoke softly.

"You may. But I do not feel like answering." Thor said as he looked at the floor.

"Then allow me to take a guess," Nick suggested and he waited till Thor was looking at him again, "This has to do with Loki, and his now apparent relationship with Tony. You don't like it." It wasn't a question. Nick leaned forward, "The question now is, why you don't like it? What is it that you disapprove of?" he inquired. Thor sighed and a slight blush came to his cheeks, but he didn't answer. Nick leaned back again and waited.

"I do not wish to be an Avenger any longer. I plan to return home now." Thor said, he was staring at the floor again and now looked horribly depressed. Nick shrugged,

"Well I can't tell you no, but I really wish you wouldn't." Nick said and picked up Thor's badge.

"I am sorry." Thor whispered. Then he was gone, rushing out the door, and flying away. Nick's face fell into a look of concern and sadness, Thor had been one of his favorites and he really wished to know what had driven him away.

* * *

><p>OK, I know this is short, but I wanted to end it here at some semblance of a cliffhanger. xD<p>

**I GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:**

*I totally took the name God of Badassery from THE godofbadassery on Twitter, because I love him and he's...well, a fucking bad ass. xDD If you don't follow him already than you should, cause he's hilarious.

*And I want to add a note to this joke because I CRACK MYSELF UP! LMAO! I was laughing so hard when I came up with that joke and then I couldn't stop imaging Loki in a fucking KILT. OH thats too good...


	9. Chapter 9

RATED A FOR ANGST! And XXX for some SEX. xD

* * *

><p>Loki held Tony against his chest and was playing with his hair, yanking out the occasional grey, causing Tony to yelp in pain and Loki just laughed every time. Loki began humming to himself and Tony enjoyed the vibration of Loki's chest.<p>

"So is this gonna be a regular thing?" Tony asked.

"I thought sex was already a regular thing in your life." There was a laugh lingering in Loki's voice.

"Well yeah. But not with you. That's different." Tony said,

"Oh? Because I am a man?" Loki inquired.

"No. Because you're…you. Ya know…Loki."

Loki laughed, "And…?"

"Well, you're kinda crazy to start with. And of course there's the fact that you're an ex-supervillian now. You're a special case, ya know?" Tony mused. Loki wasn't sure how to respond to this,

"You make it sound like I'm an escaped mental patient. Or a man running around in a banana suit." He said this with no emotion. Tony was trying and failing to hold back a laugh, and the result was an obnoxious "ffft!" sound coming from his mouth. Loki assumed that Tony was now imaging him in a banana suit. Tony moved to get up,

"WELL, I gotta work on some upgrades and shit. Wanna help me out?" he said. Loki shook his head and yawned,

"No thank you. I shall take a nap now." He said as he rolled over and pulled the blankets over his head. Tony chuckled and lightly pinched Loki's exposed thigh causing Loki to yelp and cover himself up the rest of the way with the blanket. Tony turned on some Linkin Park and went to work. At some point Pepper came down to inform him that his room and Thor's room were both being repaired now. Pepper was looking at Loki,

"Really Tony? This has to be the worst relationship ever. You guys should be on Dr. Phil." She said.

"What? What does that mean? We get along great." He defended. She laughed without humor,

"For how long? Neither one of you is completely trustworthy. Loki's known for being a psycho backstabber. And you're a whore. How long before you start pointing fingers at each other? Watching you two is like watching two starving cannibals try to live together." Her tone wasn't offending, rather just very concerned. Tony made a face,

"I trust him." He said simply. She scoffed at him,

"To what extent? Sure you trust him as long as he's within your line of sight. As soon as you don't know where he is you're gonna start jumping to assumptions. Everyone can naturally accuse the criminal when things go wrong."

"Well I won't! That's how he's been treated his whole life, and I refuse to jump on the band wagon. I _will_ trust him."

She sighed softly, "Don't you worry that he thinks you're cheating on him? Liars will always believe that everyone else is lying too." She spoke in almost a whisper. Tony hadn't thought of this,

"I guess it's up to him whether he trusts me or not. I know in my heart that I'm not doing anything to hurt him, he'll just have to see it for himself." He decided. Pepper regarded him carefully for a minute, then gave a soft smile,

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" she said playfully. Tony grinned,

"Yup. Thank you." He went back to his work and she left. Tony worked in silence for another hour before he heard a soft moan from Loki. He turned to gaze at the sleeping man and saw that he was moving around a lot. Tony put down his tools and wiped the oil from his hands then went to sit down next to Loki and look at him. Loki's pale brow was creased with fear and his mouth was pulled down in a frown. Tony gently stroked his cheek. Loki flinched, and his face contorted in pain,

"No…" he whispered and began breathing heavily, "Please…"

"Loki?" Tony was startled.

"Don't…please…Thor…" Loki was crying. Tony panicked,

"Loki, wake up!" He grabbed the slim shoulders and began shaking Loki, "Please, wake up." He said desperately. Big green eyes flew open suddenly, but they were looking through Tony not at him. Loki went rigid, then sat up, throwing his hands over his ears and screamed. Tony jumped at the sudden sound and tried to grab Loki to calm him down. Loki pulled away, into the corner, and stared at the floor. His hands were still over his head, legs pulled up to his chest, he was shaking and hyperventilating, mumbling like a mad man. Tony looked at him in horror and had no idea what to do. He ran out of the workshop and up the stairs,

"THOR!" He screamed the only name that he could think of to help him. He almost ran into the wall as he bolted into the living room,

"WHERE'S THOR!" he shouted hysterically. Everyone jumped and looked at him,

"He left." Clint said, voice heavy with worry.

"WHAT!" Tony shrieked. Clint pointed at the hole in the wall,

"He punched the wall, right after he saw Loki dragging you to the workshop suggestively, and hasn't been seen or heard since." He explained.

"Ohh shit." Tony was pulling on his hair. He yanked his phone from his pocket and dialed Nick Fury, "NICK! FIND THOR! I NEED HIM!" he cried. Nick coughed,

"Don't you think you have your hands on enough Norse Gods?" he responded calmly.

"NO! You don't understand! Loki is FREAKING OUT! I don't know what's wrong with him! And I don't know what to do! I NEED THOR!" he said in a rush, everyone in the room was now suddenly interested and were standing around Tony asking for details.

"He went back to Asgard, Tony. He quit. Something upset him so badly that he revoked his membership as an Avenger." Nick said. Tony face-palmed,

"Terrific! Great timing Thor!" he shouted at the sky, then a thought hit him like a lightning bolt, "OkthanksNickdon'tworryaboutitBYE!" he said in only one breath then hung up the phone and ran to the roof.

"TONY!" Steve and the others followed, "WHAT is going on?" Steve demanded. Tony stopped running when he was standing in the center of the roof; he looked up at the sky,

"I hope this works…" he whispered to himself then took a deep breath, "HEIMDALL!" he called, "Um…I don't know if you know me or anything, but I really _really_ need help! Please! If you can hear me, send Thor back! Tell him Loki's in trouble!" he finished. He turned to the others who were all staring at him like he was crazy. He sighed.

"Loki had a nightmare or something." He explained, "Now he's, like, petrified and mumbling to himself. He won't respond to me." He looked like he was going to cry. No one was able to respond because just then the sky was torn open in a crackle of lightning and Thor crashed upon the rooftop. Tony stared in surprise,

"That was fast." he commented. Thor regarded Tony with a very serious gaze,

"Where is he?" he asked,

"The workshop." Tony squeaked out, and Thor shoved past them all to go downstairs. Everyone followed silently. Thor didn't wait for Tony to unlock the workshop door, he just kicked it in, and went to stand before Loki's quivering form. Loki hadn't moved at all, the only thing that had changed were his hands which were now bleeding because he'd dug his fingernails into them. Tony winced at the sight. Thor gently sat down and stroked Loki's fiery curls,

"Loki." His voice sounded like he was talking to a baby bird, "Come back to me, Brother." He said. Loki's red-rimmed eyes slowly moved up to gaze at Thor's face, an anguished little sound escaped Loki's throat as he threw himself into Thor's waiting arms.

"Shhh." Thor soothed him with a gentle hand upon his head, "It is alright. Tell me, what has frightened you so? What was it?" Loki shook with sobs for a few minutes before turning those pitiful big eyes up to Thor's face, he began running his fingers over his lips, Thor frowned deeply as he understood. He pressed Loki's face to his chest and kissed the top of Loki's head.

"Thor?" Tony whispered. Thor glanced at him,

"He shall be alright." Thor answered, sounding unsure. Tony became suddenly angry,

"NO, Thor! He won't." he spoke very sternly and gestured to Loki, "I think this is a pretty fucking good sign that he is NOT nor EVER WILL BE "ALRIGHT"!" he growled. Thor turned to him,

"DO YOU NOT THINK I KNOW THAT!" he shouted and Tony was taken aback by the fury in Thor's voice and the tears running off of his chin. Loki groaned at the noise. Thor looked at him then back at Tony,

"Give me his clothes." He barked. Tony rushed to find Loki's discarded clothing and handed them to Thor. Thor easily dressed Loki, like Loki was just a rag doll hanging in his arms. He laid Loki down and tucked him in, kissing his cheek, then he got on his feet and pushed everyone out of the room. They all returned to the living room and Thor jabbed a finger into Tony's chest,

"I know that he is broken! Do not accuse me of not seeing." He continued to cry, "AND ALL OF IT IS MY FAULT!" he screamed, "HOW CAN I NOT KNOW! I have hurt him…" he took a deep breath, "But I cannot travel to the past, Anthony Stark. Can you? All I do now is try to make things better, try to make him happy in any way possible. But it is difficult when he is bent on killing me or destroying the world! Now I finally have him in my grips again and _you_," he stabbed Tony in the chest again, "You take him from me! And defile him!"

"WHAT!" Tony's face twisted from sympathy to fury, "How DARE you!" Tony was now pointing an accusing finger back at Thor, "I didn't do anything without his permission!" Thor rolled his eyes dramatically,

"OOHHH AYE! While he was DRUNK!" he argued. Tony was surprised,

"How do you even know about that?"

"I was awake when the two of you returned home." Thor answered. Tony shook his head,

"It doesn't matter! Loki likes me! We have mutual feelings!" Thor narrowed his eyes in a challenge,

"Do you truly believe that?" he said quietly, "Do you not think that he would simply use you?"

Tony gaped, "Are you fucking kidding me? Can no one just trust anyone anymore? NO THOR, I don't think he's using me, because I TRUST HIM! Something that not even YOU could do!" Tony's air supply was rudely cut off as Thor's large hand crushed his throat,

"I trust him with my life! AND I LOVE HIM MORE THAN YOU!" he screamed, his whole body shaking in rage. Realization hit Tony in the face,

"You're…jealous…" he choked, fingers clawing at Thor's tight grip. Thor dropped him to the floor suddenly. Tony coughed and gasped for a few seconds before he forced himself to stand and face Thor again, "You're jealous!" he continued to point a finger at Thor, "That's what's really going on here! Isn't it?" Thor snorted like the was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard,

"I am not jealous of a puny mortal man."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. But envy is all over your face. My question is, why? Why would you be jealous? Loki's your little bro, I'm never gonna replace you in his life. You guys will always be family. I'm just a boyfrie…" Tony trailed off and his eyebrows hit his hairline as yet another realization struck him, he gasped, "Oh…shit." Thor was looking at him with absolute heartache burning in his bright blue eyes. "Oh." Tony said again, "You…you love him…like _in love_ love him. WOW. Woah, Thor, that's…kinda…wrong…" Thor glared again,

"I know that!" he snapped, but then calmed down, "But...it does not make it go away…" he whispered. Tony cleared his throat,

"Does…does Loki know?" he asked.

"I am not sure…but he is clever, I would assume that he figured it out…especially since I kissed him…" Thor was looking at the floor uncomfortably now.

"You what? When did this happen? Ya know what, NO, never mind. Don't tell me." Tony babbled. Everything was silent for a few minutes,

"So, what freaked him out?" Peter asked trying to change the subject. Thor sighed,

"He had a nightmare…about the time he had his lips sewn shut." He told them, "It is something that has haunted us both for a very long time. It was a horrid day…" Thor said nothing more on the subject. Tony and Thor both flinched when Loki suddenly appeared behind Thor, placing a pale hand upon Thor's shoulder and looking him right in the eyes,

"Stop yelling at Tony. He's done nothing wrong." Loki spoke softly, and he still looked very shaken, scared. Thor nodded and tried to smile at him. "Why did you leave?" Loki whispered, eyes still locked upon Thor. Thor looked away. Loki squeezed his arm and gave him a more serious gaze. Thor cleared his throat,

"I…I just…can't be here. Around you…and Tony…" He was mumbling, embarrassed. Loki considered this for a moment,

"You're very selfish." He said simply. Thor looked startled by this, but then tears came back to his eyes,

"I know…" he whispered, "I am just so used to always having you to myself!" he explained, "I suppose…I am not accustom to you wanting someone else…" Loki was studying his face, as if he could see into Thor's soul. "And…and you have spent so long hating me!" Thor cried, "I..." he sighed, "I feel very confused." He concluded, he still held that desperation in his eyes, a silent begging, for Loki alone.

"Thor." Loki waited till Thor was looking him in the eyes, "I need you. I need you here, with me, helping me, standing by my side. How dare you abandon me! Just because I'm with someone who is not you?"

Thor visibly flinched, "I am sorry." He whispered again, "It was not my intention to abandon you again."

"Then don't. I'm sorry I can't do anything about the way you feel. But you have no need to be jealous of anyone. I will always want you here." Loki was smiling now, "Please. I don't like this side of you, this way you've been acting. Just be my Brother, please?"

Thor took a deep breath and calmed down, then smiled, "Ok. If that is all you want from me, then that is what I shall be. I promise." Loki raised an eyebrow,

"And this will be the end of all drama, right?" he asked, Thor nodded,

"Yes. No more drama. Promise." He grinned. Loki relaxed,

"Good! Because you're stressing me out." He sat down on the couch to relax further. Tony laughed and sat next to him, he gave Loki's hand a little squeeze,

"You ok? You really scared the shit outta me back there." He said. Loki nodded,

"You will have to get used to that. In over a thousand years, I still can't get those nightmares to stop." Loki confessed. Tony gave him a gentle hug.

"Hey if I could ask something…" Clint spoke hesitantly, everyone turned to look at him, "Not that I was looking at you naked or anything earlier but…" he looked at Loki, "What…why do you have so many scars? Is that why you never wear short sleeves or anything?" he asked. Loki thought about it for a second,

"I use my magic to hide any flaws that I might have, but since I am mortal now, yes, I have been using clothes to cover up the marks. As to their origins…well, I'm rather old and let's just say I've been through a lot." Loki answered. Clint nodded,

"Haven't we all?" he said, and the others knew it was a rhetorical question.

Nick Fury was standing by the couch now, cocking an eyebrow at everyone, but smiling at Thor,

"Good to see you're back." He handed Thor's badge to him, Thor smiled. Nick looked back at Tony and Loki, "I came to make sure Loki hadn't gone all Jeffrey Dahmer on my team." He said this with a friendly smile, "Everything all right?" he was looking at Loki. Loki nodded,

"T'was just a bad dream." He chuckled, "Sorry to have frightened everyone." Nick laughed,

"I think it was Tony that frightened everyone." He said and Tony blushed in embarrassment,

"My bad!" he defended, "I didn't know what to do! I'm terrible with people."

"I also came to give you this," Nick handed a package to Loki, "It's your uniform. You'll wear it tomorrow. An agent will be here at nine A.M. to bring you to the Helicarrier." Loki nodded once then put his hand to his forehead in a mock salute and winked at Fury,

"Yes, sir." He said in a rather suggestive tone. Tony giggled. "I'm not going to open this to find a French maids' uniform, am I?" Loki joked. Nick actually laughed,

"Is that what you'd prefer to wear? I'm sure I could arrange something."

"No. no. I think I'd rather not have my ass hanging out for the whole world." Loki said and they all laughed.

"WELL, since we're all here anyways…"Tony said as he got off the couch, "How bout some dinner? I'm starving."

* * *

><p>Loki was up early the next morning, mainly because he couldn't sleep, but also because it was his first day as an official S.H.I.E.L.D agent. He could only imagine what sort of things Fury would have him doing. He decided to himself that he would NOT do any cleaning of any sort, he still had his royal pride, and royalty does not clean. He was looking at himself in the full length mirror in Thor and his room. The uniform was stark black and similar to a catsuit, it covered him from neck-to-toe with a utility belt, boots, and gloves. Upon his left breast was his name, printed simply as LOKI, and on his right bicep was the S.H.I.E.L.D emblem. He turned to look at his rear and made a face at how the tight pants curved around his ass. Tony will have his hands all over me, he thought with a sigh. A loud snort from under the mountain of fur blankets reminded him that Thor was still sleeping there, so he quietly snuck out of the room and down the stairs. He found Clint and Peter awake, playing videogames,<p>

"What are you two doing up so early?" he asked as he looked at TV screen.

"New game just got here…" Peter mumbled. Both men were completely hypnotized into the screen, mashing buttons with controlled hysteria. Loki rolled his eyes and went to find something to eat. He liked videogames, but not THAT much. He found a bowl of fresh cut fruits in the fridge, there was a sticky note upon the lid with Tony's hideous scrawl that read,

DON'T EAT!

FOR LOKI.

And there was even a stupid little heart drawn by Loki's name. WELL, Loki thought, the man sure does dote on me. But he smiled and popped open the lid to pick out a green grape and toss it in his mouth. He placed the bowl on the kitchen island and went to make a cup of tea. Clint entered the kitchen suddenly and went straight for the freezer, he pulled out four frozen waffles and just began eating them, then looked at Loki. Loki could see the man trying to hold back a laugh, Clint coughed once,

"Standard issue secret agent suit, huh?" he teased. Loki refused to look at Clint as he poured sugar into his Earl Grey. "That's ok. I used to have to wear one of those. So did Coulson. And Natasha, but she decided to keep hers." Clint shrugged then left the kitchen with his frozen waffles. Loki made his way to the study with his fruit bowl and tea in hand, he curled up into one of the big chairs and just stared out the grand window. He could say Manhattan was pretty at this time of the day, the sun was barely peaking over the horizon, giving everything a light blue and orange glow. This was the sort of picture that you'd see couples cuddling under in a movie. Loki smiled to himself at that thought and vaguely wondered where Tony was this early in the morning. Probably passed out drunk as usual, Loki thought with a sour expression, that idiot is going to drink himself into a coma. Loki turned to look at a bookshelf and his eye caught A Portrait of Dorian Grey, he smiled and put his hand out, willing he book to come to him. Nothing happened. Loki's face twisted between aggravation and pitiful hopelessness. He felt a hole in him, a great dark pit that used to belong to his magic, his power, but now it was nothing but emptiness. Depression gripped him completely and he no longer felt like reading, so he turned back to the window and began wondering if the fall to the ground would kill him or not. He absently finished his meal while watching the sun rise and when the bowl of fruit was empty and his tea was cold he got up to return to the kitchen. He found everyone else awake; Clint and Peter were still playing their new game, Thor was on the couch with a box of Poptarts- Did he ever eat anything else? – And Steve was in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee. Steve glanced at Loki from the corner of his eye,

"Morning!" He said cheerfully. Loki grumbled in reply, placing the bowl and cup in the sink. Steve turned to face him now and assessed Loki's attire, then smiled in amusement to himself before taking a sip of his coffee. Loki waited for Steve to make some smart-ass comment about the black jumpsuit, but no such remark came, Steve simply took his coffee and left the room. Loki felt constantly confused by that man, maybe because Loki always expected people to act a certain way when around him but Steve never did what Loki expected. In fact, despite Steve's need to punish Loki, he was very kind to Loki, understanding even and sympathetic. But Loki assumed that it was just Steve's personality. The man is far too soft and sweet for his own good, Loki decided. Loki stepped back into the living room to find Tony and Clint playing Dance Dance Revolution against each other.

"WINNING!" Tony suddenly hollered while throwing his arms into the air and doing some sort of Backstreet Boy dance move impersonation. Loki laughed,

"You're pretty agile for an old man." He teased. Tony cackled,

"LOOK WHO'S TALKING! Mr. I'm Old Enough To Be Your Great Ancestor." He countered.

"Indeed." Loki laughed then leaned in to Tony's ear, "Who knows, I could be the father of the very first Stark born." He whispered. Tony shivered,

"Ok, that's just creepy and gross." He replied.

"Yeah I don't get it," Clint interrupted, "If you guys live forever and never get old, how come Odin looks old?" he asked. Loki and Thor looked at each other and Loki pursed his lips as he thought about it, then he shrugged,

"I honestly can't tell you. I don't know." He said.

"He is aged with wisdom." Thor said with a proud smile, Loki stuck his tongue out and pretended to gag. Tony laughed,

"It's cause he's old as balls." He said, still dancing around on the pink and blue light-up floor.

"Yes, thank you Tony, for your most eloquent input, as always." Loki said while rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome. You know I love doing society a good service." He chuckled.

"Good morning boys!" came a voice from the front door and everyone, except Tony, turned to see Agent Coulson.

"Who let that guy in?" Tony asked, not once halting his dance moves or taking his eyes from the screen.

"You know well that I go wherever I want, Stark." Coulson responded then turned to give Loki a slight bow, "I'm here to pick you up." He said.

"Oh." Loki was actually a little shocked, "Well Nick could have told me he was sending _you_." He mumbled, a frown pulling on his lips.

"It's ok Loki, we all hate him." Tony commented. Coulson pointed at Tony,

"Don't make me debrief you, Stark." He joked and Clint laughed. Coulson turned back to Loki and looked him up and down once,

"What's with the hair?" he asked and Loki actually looked up in confusion before he remembered that he was now a red head. He ran a hand through the wild curls,

"Well, I don't know. When I turned mortal it just changed like this." He shrugged one shoulder.

"I don't like it." Coulson dead-panned and Loki gave him a "well I don't give a fuck" look. "Why don't you just dye it?" Coulson suggested. Loki blinked slowly once,

"Dye…it?" he asked. Coulson sighed,

"Yeah, it's something humans have been doing forever. You can turn it black with hair dye." He explained. Loki turned to look at Tony,

"Why was this information not given to me before? All this time I've been suffering with this ridiculous hair, and I could have changed it?" he demanded and Tony only shrugged.

"Hey do I look like I go to the salon every week? The thought never crossed my mind. Besides, I like your hair." He said. Coulson lightly slapped Loki's bicep,

"C'mon. We'll drop by a salon before we get to the Helicarrier." He said while heading for the door, he opened the front door and held it for Loki. Thor caught Loki's wrist before he left and gave Loki an accusing glare,

"You had better behave." He said deliberately. Loki looked at him in astonishment,

"Excuse me?" his voice went up almost two whole octaves, "What would I possible do?"

"Hah!" Thor snorted, "You'd think of something." He smiled. Loki scrunched up his nose in an annoyed expression before smiling and saying good-bye to everyone. Coulson held the car door open for him as well and Loki cocked an eyebrow at him,

"Are you always so polite?" he wondered.

"Only to small children and women." He said with no emotion before closing the car door in Loki's face and walking around to get into the driver's seat. They drove in silence till Coulson pulled over to a store front that looked like it was stuck in the 80's, with glitter, sequins, and posters of people with big curly hair all over the windows. Coulson held the door for Loki to get out of the car than they stepped into the little shop, a loud cheerful bell sounded as the door opened. A small woman with a bouffant of red curls atop her head, drawn on eyebrows, bright red lips and fingernails, and huge faux eyelashes came to greet them.

"Mornin' dolls. What can I get'cha?" she said rather loudly, lolling a huge wad of neon blue bubble gum around her tongue before chewing it obnoxiously. Loki recognized the woman's speech as what was known as a Brooklyn accent, and he hated it already. Coulson nodded to Loki,

"Can you dye his hair black?" he asked. The woman looked Loki up and down while chewing her gum just like a cow chewing on grass. After an uncomfortably long period of time she beckoned Loki to follow her,

"Sure thing, doll." She patted one of the silver swiveling chairs that lined the walls, "Sit." She told Loki then walked out of the room, through a door in the far corner. Loki scrutinized the chair like it was a pile of dirt and manure for several minutes before Coulson finally grabbed his shoulder and shoved him into the chair. The woman returned with a bowl of dark purple paste, she was stirring it with an applicator brush and the only sound in the entire salon was her chewing followed by the occasional pop. Loki wanted to stab himself in the ears. He shivered suddenly as woman put a glob of the dye on his head and it was very cold, she simply took the dye in her gloved hands and rubbed it into his hair like shampoo. Something told Loki that she wasn't doing this right, but he didn't say a word. Coulson was absently flipping through a Cosmopolitan magazine, occasionally shaking his head at something. Loki watched himself in the mirror, and sure enough he saw the fiery orange turning pitch black under the purple goo. After the woman finished covering his head she removed her gloves,

"Be a few minutes." She told them then pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and sat at the desk to have a very loud conversation with whomever she'd called. Coulson showed the magazine to Loki,

"Can you believe this?" he said pointing at the open page, "Angelina and Brad are planning on adopting another kid!" he sounded incredulous, "Someone needs to stop that woman." He was shaking his head as he continued to flip through the pages. Loki had no response to his comment because he had no idea what Coulson was talking, so he just raised an eyebrow. The woman came back and tossed a plastic apron over Loki then tapped his shoulder rather roughly,

"Com'on." She ordered and went to stand by one of the washing basins. Loki was really starting to hate this woman's attitude, but he obeyed anyways. He made a face as the woman scrubbed his head, digging her obscenely long fingernails into his skull. Thor could do better than this hag, he thought. She wrapped his head up in a towel and pushed him back over to the chair, she dried his hair then tossed the towel and picked up a comb,

"What'cha want me to do with this?" she asked gesturing to Loki's now pitch black hair. Coulson glanced up from his magazine,

"Slick it back." He said then returned to whatever he was reading. The woman then dipped her comb into a jar of blue hair gel and shoved the comb through Loki's curls. She did this a few more times then sprayed Loki with hairspray just for good measure. Coulson handed her a wad of cash and they left.

"I did not like her!" Loki exclaimed as soon as the store door closed behind them, Coulson laughed. The next time them pulled over it was in front of a big government building in the middle of Manhattan, they took the elevator to the roof and found a helicopter waiting for them. Loki shook his head,

"Is it really this tedious to get on and off of that damn Helicarrier? I could have just asked Thor to fly me. It would have saved time _and_ money." He said.

"Maybe we just want to rub the whole mortal thing in your face." Coulson shouted over the noise of the chopper's blade and another agent held the door open for Coulson and Loki to climb in. After they were seated inside with the door closed Loki responded,

"Well you're doing a good job of that. I'm exhausted already and we aren't even there yet." He whined. Coulson's expression went suddenly serious,

"Listen up." He barked and Loki was slightly alarmed by the sudden harshness, "I don't like you." He said and at that Loki raised an eyebrow in interest, "And I don't approve of any of this. You getting off free and now being hired to work with us. It's bullshit. But for the sake of MY job, I do what I'm told." He pointed a finger at Loki and lowered his voice, "I WILL be watching you, and if I see anything suspicious or even slightly nefarious I won't hesitate to put a bullet through your pretty little head AND watch Supernanny while you bleed on the carpet." He glared at Loki for a minute then threw his hands up, "I think the only reason you aren't in a prison cell is because Thor, NOT Tony, came to Nick and seriously begged for you to be given another chance, and for WHATEVER reason, Nick has a soft spot for Thor." He pointed at himself now, "But I don't have soft spots. And if in the end Thor smashes me into jelly for shooting you in the head, I won't care, because I'll have stopped you for good." Loki then leaned forward to give Coulson a challenging gaze,

"I hope you remember these words after I get my powers back, little man, because I WILL choke you with them." He spat. Coulson snorted and leaned closer to Loki so their noses where barely an inch away from each other,

"Any day, bitch. My opinion of you will never change and I don't fear you. SO bring it on." He hissed in return. The two men glared at each other until the helicopter landed. Coulson led Loki inside to the main room where the giant oval table occupied most of the space and Nick Fury was seated at the front, by himself. Coulson moved to stand at Nick's right side and simply folded his hands over his waist. Nick looked up at Loki and motioned for him to come and sit down. Loki took a seat to Nick's left where he could keep his eyes on Coulson. Nick slid a huge binder across the table to Loki,

"First things first, when you're here working you WILL refer to me as Director, Director Fury, Mr. Fury, or Sir. Like it or not, I'm you superior and you will treat me as such because you work for me now." He paused to take in Loki's disgusted expression. Loki then shook his head and waved his hand dismissively,

"OH, this is NOT going to work out." He said. Nick chuckled,

"Relax. I think you'll like where I'm going with this." He flipped the binder open to point at one of the pages, "I've put you in charge of a small section of two different operations. Here is the genetics department, section G, you have a staff of forty-three scientists all under you command. And here, technological advancement, Stark's personal division, and you have a hundred sum-odd engineers at your disposal there." He waited for Loki to skim over the list of names,

"Really?" Loki looked unimpressed but there was a hint of excitement in his voice.

"That DOES NOT mean they are your lab rats." Nick said sternly, and Loki gave him a wicked grin,

"Oh bummer." He joked.

"Can you handle this?" Nick raised his eyebrow at Loki, genuine concern showing on his face. Loki's expression softened,

"What do you mean by "this"?" he asked. Nick gestured to the binder,

"Responsibility. And people. You don't do to well with people." Nick said. Loki couldn't help chuckling,

"Well I won't kill any of them, if that's what you mean. But I can't make any other guarantees there." He responded. Nick regarded him carefully for a minute,

"Alright. I trust you'll be busy all day." He rose out of his chair, "Lemme show you where you'll be working." Loki followed him out of the room and down a flight of stairs. The first huge pair of doors they entered led them into a wide laboratory. Many people were milling about among the computers and chemicals, all were wearing white coats. Loki simply nodded. Nick then took him back out the doors, down the hall and to the right. There they found a huge room very similar to an airplane hangar, filled with men in engineer's uniforms. A small group of said men were assembling some sort of jet, Loki assumed it would be remote controlled because it was obviously too small for a man to pilot and lacked a cockpit all together. Loki watched them putting wires into the vehicle for a few minutes before he saw a problem, the one placing the wires wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing because he was eating a sandwich at the same time, and the sandwich apparently took all his focus. Loki squealed in alarm and frustration,

"WHAT are you DOING!" he ran over to the now startled group and slapped the sandwich-eating man out of his way, "You can't put that there!" he continued to holler and began yanking cords out. The men were looking at each other in a flurry of confusion, Nick Fury stepped over and cleared his throat,

"Relax, men. This is your new divisions' director. He's in charge." He explained. The men all wore the same look of surprise and embarrassment, now that they knew they'd been slacking off in front of a commanding officer. They all got up and tried to look like they were doing work. Loki was picking up the remaining pieces of the jet and putting it together, one of the men held out a blueprint to him,

"Don't you need the schematics, sir?" he asked. Loki glared at him,

"No. I do not. Thank you." He replied like the man had greatly offended him. Nick laughed,

"Well, I see you're doing fine already. I'll leave you to it then." He said to Loki and Loki simply gave him an absent wave without looking away from his project. Loki finished the jet then held his hand out to the men watching him in awe,

"Where are the controls?" he asked. The men looked at each other then back at Loki,

"They…uhm…they haven't been built yet…sir." One responded and Loki turned his death glare on full power,

"Why not? What the Hel do you people do all day?" he snapped, the men scrambled to find the blueprint designs for the jet controls.

"Well, nobody's ever finished something that fast before, sir!" a man was telling Loki, "We usually start building the controls when we get close to finishing the jet." Loki just made a "hmph" sound at them. When he was finally handed the blueprint he glanced at it for a whole two seconds then tossed it to the floor and began assembling different pieces of metal together.

"Where do you men get these designs from?" he asked in a much calmer voice,

"From Mr. Stark, sir, he sends his ideas to us and we build them in mass." One answered and Loki nodded. He had assumed as much, since the designs were far to advance for anyone else to have wrote them. No wonder it takes these men so long to build anything, Loki thought, they can't even understand what they're reading!

"How long have you worked on this jet already?" Loki asked.

"Almost five years, sir." The same man answered and Loki looked at him in surprise,

"That is absurd! By the time you finish one invention it will be outdated!" Loki exclaimed and the men all looked embarrassed again,

"Well, it's…hard to understand Mr. Stark's designs, sir." He said, only confirming Loki's previous thought. Loki nodded,

"Yes, well, I'm here now. So we're going to speed things up. A lot." He said. He stopped building the controller and stood up, "I want to see the most recent designs you've been given." He waved a dismissive hand at the jet, "Throw this garbage out, it's well past its date. I'm sure Tony has sent you something much better already."

"Yes, sir." The men said and ran off to do as Loki commanded. Loki grinned wickedly to himself,

"Oohh I can get used to this." He said in a sing-song voice to no one in particular.

The first thing Loki did when he got home was take a shower. By the end of his work day he'd been covered in oil and grime and desperately wanted to get it off. It took him almost ten whole minutes to peel himself out of the catsuit but he finally got it off and turned the water on in the shower. There was a knock at the door. He looked at the door in annoyance but opened it none the less. Tony stood on the other side, and of course the first thing his eyes caught was Loki's naked manhood, Loki gave him a look.

"Oh…uhh…" Tony tried to keep his eyes on Loki's face, "Can I join you?" he suddenly asked. Loki pursed his lips as he considered the question for a minute, but decided he was too tired to care. So he threw the bathroom door open the rest of the way and Tony stepped inside. The mirrors were all steamy already so Loki didn't wait any longer to get under the hot water. Tony started stripping his own clothes,

"SO," he began, "How was work?" there was a laugh in his voice and Loki couldn't help laughing as well at how ridiculous that question sounded.

"Annoying. But fine otherwise." Loki answered. Tony stepped into the shower,

"Why was it annoying?" he asked,

"Because people are annoying." Loki was scrubbing shampoo into his now glossy black hair. Tony chuckled,

"Oh I see." He just watched Loki for a few minutes, "I missed you." He suddenly said in a soft voice. Loki opened his eyes to look at Tony,

"Really?" he asked, and his voice wasn't condescending or sarcastic. Tony smiled,

"Yeah." He blushed a light pink and the look in his soft, brown eyes was wanting. At that, Loki ditched all efforts to have a relaxing shower, and crushed himself against Tony lustfully. The first thing Tony's needy hands landed on was Loki's soft, round rear and Tony used it to anchor Loki against him. Loki had his hands all in Tony's hair, kissing him everywhere and occasionally biting. Tony was panting, cock hard and eager already. He turned to push Loki against the shower wall and reached lower to grip the backs of Loki's thighs, Loki chuckled,

"I don't think you'll be able to hold me up." He said in a teasing, husky voice, "Besides, there's also a bit of a height difference between us." He was chewing on Tony's left ear. Tony took the teasing as a challenge and only gripped Loki's thighs harder then pulled them up around his waist, shifting his weight to push Loki into the wall more,

"What was that you were saying?" he grinned in triumph, Loki bit his lower lip now,

"Yes, well, let's see you work those hips while holding me up, hmm?" he stuck his tongue in Tony's mouth for a second. Tony made a "psh" sound and Loki laughed.

"God that is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard." Tony moaned into Loki's neck. Loki's brow bunched up slightly in confusion,

"What sound?" he wondered. Tony looked him in the eyes,

"Your laugh." He said like it was obvious, Loki cocked his head just a bit to the left still looking confused, "It's like…extremely sexy and haunting at the same time. Like the laugh of a really hot serial killer right before he slices your throat open. It gives me shivers but I love it." Tony explained, and Loki rolled his eyes but was smiling. He touched his nose to Tony's,

"Do I frighten you?" he whispered with a mock sinister expression. Tony giggled,

"Yeah, but I like it. You can fry my ass whenever you want, and I'll enjoy it." He grinned like an idiot and Loki laughed again,

"I'll keep that in mind." He said then reached down between them to grip Tony's cock roughly. Tony just moaned and buried his face into Loki's neck. Things escalated easily from there and Loki was surprised to find that Tony could keep him up and do a good job with his cock at the same time. Tony pretended to drop Loki at one point just to bother him and Loki playfully slapped him in the face. Tony just laughed. Before they knew it the water had gone stone cold and they were flushed with satisfaction. Loki turned the water off and they both shivered.

"So much for that shower you wanted, huh?" Tony was still panting.

"That's alright. I had more fun." Loki smiled and gently stroked the underside of Tony's chin and Tony giggled again. They wrapped themselves up in towels and stepped out of the bathroom to find Thor seated on the floor, polished his armor. The golden haired man looked up in alarm,

"Oh." Loki chuckled.

"Awkward…"Tony blushed and headed for the door, "I'm…just…gonna…leave now." He mumbled and almost ran from the room. Thor looked at Loki in concern and sighed, but didn't say anything, he simply returned to polishing his leg guards. Loki frowned for a second at the uncomfortable atmosphere then stepped over to the armoire to find himself something to sleep in. Thor watched Loki from the corner of his eye, his polishing hand slowly stopped moving and he actually turned his face up to look at Loki as he pulled on a t-shirt. Thor's eyes wandered over those long, pale legs and he wondered just how mad Loki would get if he reached out and touched that soft flesh. His gaze flicked up to Loki's face and he found that Loki was looking back at him,

"What are you doing?" Loki asked accusingly as he slipped into a pair of black sweatpants. Thor's face went red and he just shook his head as if to say "Nothing." then went back to polishing. Loki watched him carefully for a while, but Thor didn't look up again until after Loki had left the room. He picked himself up off the floor and went into the bathroom to find Loki's black suit in a heap on the floor. He gently picked up the shirt and then pressed the inside of the tight material to his face and took a deep breath. He blushed as he considered what Loki might say if he caught Thor right now, then he shamefully tossed the shirt to the floor again and left his room.


	10. Chapter 10

Loki was wandering the halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier, not looking at anything in particular. He'd worked here for a week already and had become rather comfortable with the environment. The men under his command in both departments had quickly picked up on his personality; they knew when to listen well and when to get the Hel out of his way. Loki could care less if any of them liked him or not because he enjoyed bossing them around, and he loved the startled looks on their stupid faces whenever he started yelling. He chuckled in delight to himself. He entered what was known as the lounge room and settled unto a soft, white leather couch. There were two other agents getting cups of coffee at the kitchenette and they'd stopped their personal conversation when Loki had entered the room. Loki wasn't paying any attention to the men so he jumped slightly when they suddenly stepped in front of him. He raised his eyebrows at them,

"Yes?" he chided, sounding slightly annoyed. One man, his name was printed as COLIN on his chest, cleared his throat and pointed to Loki's own name badge,

"Loki, huh? Like the Norse god?" he asked. Loki blinked slowly once,

"Yes." He said in a droll tone. Because there are SO many of us among the universe, he thought sarcastically to himself.

"Also like the supervillian who tried conquering Earth not too long ago?" Colin continued,

"Where are you going with this interrogation, mortal?" Loki snapped and the men looked at each other for a second. Then the second man, whose name was ANDERSON, spoke,

"So it is you." Was all he said. Colin smiled suddenly,

"There's something we wanted to show you." He said cheerfully and gestured for Loki to follow them. Loki gave him a deathly bored gaze. He continued to wave for Loki to follow,

"Come on! It'll just take a second." He said as he headed for the door. Loki sighed dramatically,

"Fine then. But if this is just something stupid I'll have your heads." He mumbled as he got up from the comfy couch to follow the men. Loki followed the men in silence for what seemed like forever, they continued to turn around halls and down stairs. Loki looked around,

"Where…?" he stopped in his tracks as he realized there were no cameras around them, nor any people. The men turned to look at him, and fury was all over their faces. All color drained from Loki's face and his expression changed to one of honest fear. Loki panicked and wheeled around like lightening, he began sprinting down the hall, but the men proved to be just as fast and they grabbed him. He yelped,

"NO!" the men threw him into the wall and the one named Colin punched him right in jaw. Loki threw his hands up to protect his face, but Anderson grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. Anderson kept Loki in a vice grip while Colin beat all his fury into Loki's body.

"WAIT!" Loki was still trying to squirm away. Colin gripped Loki's now blood covered chin and looked him in the eyes,

"You killed our buddy, and we heard you'd been turned mortal. Looks like it's true." The man grinned wickedly, "Good." He spat in Loki's face and proceeded to beat him further. Loki couldn't stop the cries of pain he made as he was beaten to near unconsciousness. His face suddenly hit the cold floor and he realized that Anderson had let go of him. He tried to pick himself up, to have some bit of dignity left, but Anderson stepped on his hand. Anderson dug his boot into Loki's thin fingers till they all heard the snap of bone and Loki screamed. The men walked away, leaving him there. Loki laid on that floor in his agony for a long while before he couldn't hold the tears anymore and he just cried. He curled up into himself and cradled his broken hand, crying like a child that had just been bullied by bigger kids. He had no idea how long he stayed there, he cried until his throat was sore, then he reached into his jacket pocket with his broken hand and pulled out the cellphone Tony had bought him. Blood smeared across the bright screen as his thumb scrolled through the contacts till he found Tony's name. He pressed the green button and put the phone to his ear. He tried to clear his throat so that he wouldn't sound like he'd just been crying for two hours, but as soon as he heard Tony's sweet voice say,

"Hey babe! What's up?" he broke down again,

"Tony!" he sobbed into the phone, breath coming out in hitches.

"Loki? What happened!" Tony sounded very alarmed. Loki tried to take a deep breath but it hurt,

"Just…come find me…please? I want to come home. Please." He managed to say.

"Wha…?" Tony was confused and concerned, "You're at the Helicarrier right?" he asked.

"Yes. But I don't know where I am INSIDE the Helicarrier. I'm kind of lost." He spoke in almost a whisper, embarrassment seeping through.

"Are you…crying…cause you're lost?" Tony wondered.

"No." Loki whispered pitifully, "Just come get me, Tony, please." He begged.

"Ok ok. I'm on my way. Just keep your phone on, I can track you with it." He said.

"Ok." Loki said and hung up the phone. He was lying on his side, staring at the wall with only one eye, the other was swollen shut. It hurt even to breathe and he tried to sort out all the pain; broken fingers, possible broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, torn and bleeding face. He forced himself to not cry anymore because the salty tears burned the wounds on his face, so he focused on breathing. He didn't realize that he had begun to black out till he heard the muffled sounds of people. He couldn't focus on them enough to understand their speech but he saw fuzzy images dancing around in front of him, and then he vaguely felt a warm calloused hand touching his face before everything went black.

* * *

><p>Tony had grabbed his car keys as he hung the phone up. Fear and anxiety were tearing him up inside. Why was Loki crying like that? What had happened to him? He jumped into his car and drove as fast as the traffic would allow. He had debated with himself about just throwing on his Iron Man suit and flying there, but he figured it couldn't be that serious. When he finally reached the Helicarrier the elevator couldn't go fast enough. He dashed out of the elevator and unto the ship deck,<p>

"Nick!" he called and Nick Fury slowly turned from the viewing window to face him, "Where's Loki?" Tony asked.

"Working, last I checked." Nick answered, he could see Tony's anxious demeanor.

"Yeah? And when did you "last check"?" Tony inquired. Nick raised an eyebrow,

"When he got here this morning. Why? What's going on?" he watched as Tony pulled out his cell phone. A GPS screen was displayed and a little red dot stared blinking on the screen.

"Are you tracking Loki?" Nick wondered,

"Yeah." Tony nodded. Nick looked at the little map and his face became confused,

"What is he doing all the way down there…" his voice trailed off and he looked at Tony seriously.

"I need to go get him. He called me saying he's lost and he wants me to take him home." He told Nick.

"Lost?" Nick said, "More likely some men holding grudges tricked him into following them down there. There aren't any cameras on that low level because it's used like garage." Nick explained. Tony looked horrified,

"Oh my god." He said and started running, Nick followed. They ran down flight after flight of stairs till they came to some darker lit halls. Tony was looking for any doors or rooms that Loki might be locked in when Nick suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Tony looked at him in alarm and Nick was pointing behind Tony. Tony whirled around, and at the end of the hall he saw that familiar figure curled up on the floor. He gasped and ran toward him,

"Loki?" he called but there was no response. He dropped to his knees in front of Loki and Loki only made a pitiful little moan. Tony winced as he looked at Loki's broken body. His beautiful pale face was covered in blood and swollen to the point of being almost unrecognizable, several digits of his left hand were snapped back in the wrong direction, and his right shoulder was obviously dislocated. Tony gently placed his hand upon Loki's face to pull his eyelids open,

"He's blacked out." Tony said to Nick. Nick pressed the button on his headset microphone,

"This is Director Fury. I need a medical team at my location immediately. And quickly!" he ordered. Tony stood up and glared at Nick,

"I wanna know who did this!" he growled. Nick held up a hand to calm him,

"Relax." Nick ordered, "I'm sure Loki will tell us who it was." A few minutes later several medical personal were running down the hall with a stretcher and first aid supplies. Two men daintily lifted Loki unto the stretcher while a woman gave Loki a shot of pain killer.

"This way." Nick led them into a narrow hallway, "It leads outside. I'll put you two on a helicopter back to your mansion." He told Tony. They came up a few stairs and immerged outside on the landing pad. There was already a chopper waiting so the med team jumped in and strapped Loki down. They had already put his fingers in splints and were now bandaging his face.

"Geez." Tony cursed, "What did Loki do to those guys that they would beat him so much?" he wondered. Nick snorted incredulously,

"You can't seriously be surprised, Stark." He said and gestured to Loki, "You don't become the conqueror of Earth without making a few enemies." Tony watched in contained horror as the doctors sat Loki up and snapped his shoulder back into place, all the while Loki lay limp and unconscious. The doctors then began removing his clothes to further investigate his injuries. The great thing about the shirt of the S.H.I.E.L.D issued catsuit was that it zipped up the front, so the doctors were able to get it off of Loki without much trouble. Loki's ribs were smeared black, blue, and purple and the female doctor sucked her teeth in disbelief.

"They had to have beaten him for a good long while. This is ridiculous!" she was shaking her head, "I'm surprised they didn't just kill him."

"Maybe they thought he'd die if they left him there." One of the male nurses answered.

"HEY!" Tony snapped, "That's my boyfriend! Ya wanna be a little more respectful?" his fury was pouring out. The entire medical staff halted their movements and looked up at Tony in shock,

"Your…b…?" the woman couldn't even repeat the words. Tony continued to glare,

"Yeah, you heard me! MY. BOY. FRIEND. And you'd better take good care of him!" he shouted. Nick snorted in amusement. The doctors immediately went back to work cleaning Loki up,

"Of course, Mr. Stark!" One of the men answered. Considering that Tony Stark funded the majority of the medical staff at the Helicarrier, these men and women knew better than to piss him off. They soon landed upon the roof of the Avengers Mansion and Tony jumped out of the chopper to open up the roof elevator. Bruce's medical rooms were on the third floor, so the trip down was short. Thankfully Bruce was in the med rooms when they entered and although his face showed his surprise he was quick to act. They moved Loki unto an actually hospital bed and Bruce stuck an I.V. into his left arm.

"What happened?" He asked no one in particular, but he saw that Tony and Nick were uninjured, so it obviously wasn't a fight.

"Some jerks at S.H.I.E.L.D. cornered him and beat the shit out of him." Tony growled. Bruce winced,

"Gosh. Wow." He was looking at Loki's wounds, "They were really pissed."

"Unfortunately, most of the world isn't just gonna forgive Loki as easy as Tony has." Nick stated then turned to Bruce, "You think you can take care of him?" he asked. Bruce nodded,

"Yeah. His life isn't in any danger, but he'll be in a lot of pain for a while. I can handle it." He said. Nick nodded in recognition,

"Then we're gonna go." He placed a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder, "Relax. I'll find out who it was. I won't let them get away with physical assault, I don't care who the victim was." He reassured Tony then he left with his medical staff. Tony sighed and sat down in a plastic chair next to Loki's bed. He dropped his face into his hands and rubbed his temples,

"I should have thought of this…" he whispered. Bruce sat down next to him,

"Don't beat yourself up. I mean, I knew a lot of people would still hold animosity toward him, but I never imagined someone would do _this_." He said. Tony sighed again, this time sounding exhausted,

"I'm supposed to be helping him. Teaching him. Protecting him." He looked up at Bruce now, "I fucked up." He looked back at the floor pitifully, "I _always_ fuck up." He mumbled. Bruce wasn't good at this sort of thing so he said the only thing he could think of,

"It's not your fault, and I'm sure Loki would agree with me." He tried to give a reassuring smile but Tony didn't look at him, so Bruce just left the room uncomfortably and went down stairs to tell everyone what had happened. Minutes later Clint, Peter, Steve, and Thor came rushing into the med room and each of them cringed at the sight of Loki's swollen, bruised body.

"Aw damn." Clint said while shaking his head. Thor was standing by Loki's bedside, a mixture of fury and sorrow swirled in his eyes and he clinched his fists. Peter sat by Loki's feet and frowned,

"Aww." His voice was heavy with concern, "He'll be ok, right?" he turned his big, hopeful eyes up to Steve who was lightly stroking Tony's hair. Steve smiled softly,

"Yeah he'll be fine, in a couple days." He said.

"Who did this?" Clint asked. Tony shrugged,

"We don't know. They led him down into the garage of the Helicarrier, so there weren't any cameras." He answered.

"What a bag of dicks." Clint said. Steve shrugged one shoulder,

"I honestly can't say I'm surprised." He said. Tony and Thor both turned equal glares of fury upon him and he backpedaled, "I'm just saying!" he said as he threw his hands up in defense, "I mean, of course there are people out there that still hate him." He explained. An awkward silence settled until Steve told Peter it was past his bedtime. So Steve and Peter left with Clint trailing behind, and then Tony and Thor were left alone, with only the occasional beep of Loki's vitals monitor filling the silence. Thor's eyes never left Loki's poor bruised face,

"I will kill them." He whispered softly to no one. Tony glanced up at him and saw an anger that he'd never seen in Thor before,

"Not without me you won't." he commented and Thor looked at him in surprise for only a second before he smiled,

"Of course." Thor nodded, "We shall get them back for this, together." Tony smiled in return. A stranger silence filled the space between them now, it wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly welcome either. Tony gently cleared his throat and stood up, stretching his back,

"Well I think we should both just get some rest. And hope that Loki wakes up ok tomorrow." He said. Thor was frowning,

"Yes. Though I do not think I will be able to sleep." He responded. Tony watched him for a minute and Thor still didn't remove his eyes from Loki's face, like he was trying to see into Loki's soul or decipher him in some way that couldn't have been possible before. "I cannot bare it…" he suddenly whispered and Tony was startled,

"Bare what?" he asked.

"Seeing him like this…" Thor gestured to Loki's sleeping frame, "So…weak…and…_mortal_." He spat the last word like it was poison on his tongue, "It is…pathetic. This is not _my_ Loki. My Loki is strong, unyielding, and deadly in every way. Yet now, he cannot even defend himself against two bullies." He sounded angry and confused by this fact.

"That's not true. He defended himself against two guys before just fine. I think this time it just caught him by surprise. And they didn't fight fair." Tony told him. Thor nodded,

"Indeed. Humans never fight with any sense of honor." He sighed. Tony didn't reply to this comment even though he could have brought up many instances when humans had been honorable. "I think I shall follow your advice and go to bed now." Thor said and headed for the door. Tony nodded,

"Yeah." He followed Thor from the room. But neither men actually slept that night.

* * *

><p>The first thing that registered in Loki's mind when he awoke was that he couldn't feel his body. His mind was stuck in a haze and his entire body was numb, he felt strangely disconnected from it, like his head was floating in a dark sea while the rest of him detached and sank to the bottom. He groaned in annoyance and tried to sit up but his limbs were not responding to his mental commands. He blinked a couple of times, trying to clear the fog from his vision, and looked around. As things came into focus he realized he was on a hospital bed. Confusion settled upon him and he looked down at himself to find that almost every inch of him was wrapped up in bandages, two of his left hand fingers were in splints and his right arm was in a sling, he also realized that he was looking through only one eye. His left hand finally responded and he reached up to touch his face, his index finger came in contact with a heavy bandage that covered the majority of the right side of his face, including his eye. He dropped his hand and sighed. He slowly turned his head to the right to see a second gurney beside him, this one empty, and the door leading from the room. He turned to his left and found a long metal table littered with medical supplies, journals, and binders. He recognized these belongings to be Bruce's and it relaxed him to know that he was at the mansion. He was able to force himself unto his left side to reach out and press the red CALL button on the wall beside his bed then he laid still and waited for Bruce to come to him. Sure enough a minute later Bruce entered the room with a big grin on his face,<p>

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, "That's wonderful." He came to Loki's side and began checking all the monitoring devices and the I.V.

"Why can I not feel all of my body?" Loki groaned. Bruce looked confused for just a second before he understood what Loki meant,

"Oh!" he chuckled, "Because I drugged you up on painkillers. The numbness will wear off eventually. But you don't need to worry about it because you're not gonna be getting out of bed anytime soon." Bruce told him.

"Did Tony find me? Is that how I'm here?" he wondered and Bruce nodded,

"Yeah. Him and Thor have both been in foul moods since it happened." Loki looked at him with a little surprise,

"How long ago did it happen?" he asked, "How long have I been unconscious?" Bruce smiled,

"About two days. It's fine. I kept you drugged because I wanted you to sleep most of it off, otherwise you would have been suffering in a lot of pain." He frowned a little, "Well, when these painkillers wear off you're still gonna be in a lot of pain, but less than before." Loki just groaned again and closed his eyes,

"Perhaps you should just knock me unconscious till I'm completely healed." He whined. Bruce laughed,

"That wouldn't be safe, or healthy." He explained, "Would you like something to eat?" he asked. Loki shook his head,

"No, thank you. Where is Tony?" his voice was soft and pleading. Bruce frowned again,

"He's not home right now. In fact, you and I are the only one's here. They all "assembled" to go investigate some bank robberies. I stayed here in case you woke up."

"Thank you." Loki said softly. Bruce's eyebrows came together as he just realized that Loki had said "thank you" twice now and it stunned him to know that he'd never heard those words pass Loki's lips before. Loki was always one for demanding, commanding, and belittling others, but not using manners. The few times that Loki was polite always involved heavy sarcasm and something that he was trying to get out of the other party member. Bruce smiled,

"It's no problem at all." He assured. Loki tried to take a deep breath but winced and his hand flew to his ribs and he frowned.

"Well, I think I'm going to be greatly bored stuck here." He said then looked at Bruce with a small smile, "Would you mind bringing me some books to entertain myself with?" he asked. Bruce was taken aback a second time by Loki's soft politeness,

"Uhm…yeah. Sure, ok." He turned to the door then back to Loki, "If you want, I can bring you some videogames too." He pointed at the flat screen TV on the wall, "Tony had an Xbox installed in here for all the times he was bored stuck in a hospital bed." He chuckled. Loki smiled and nodded,

"Sure, that would be nice." He said. Bruce left to collect a handful of video games and a couple of large tomes such as The Complete Works of Harlan Ellison and The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes. He placed the items on the bedside table,

"If you want me to turn a game on for you then just press the CALL button again, ok?" he said and Loki smiled.

"Thank you." He said and picked up the Harlan Ellison compendium. Bruce smiled to himself, he knew that Loki would go for that book first. Loki was a huge fan of mentally disturbing, post-apocalyptic, visions of Hell on Earth. The kinds of stories that give the average person nightmares and make them question their sanity.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that your favorite story from him is A Boy and His Dog*." Bruce smiled. Loki laughed, then winced slightly at his ribs again,

"I like that one a lot, but I'd have to say my actual favorite is I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream*." He said. Bruce visibly shivered and stuck his tongue out in a show of disgust,

"That one just scares the shit out of me. But I can see why you like it. Assuming that you would take the place of AM in the story, huh?" he inquired. Loki smirked,

"Am I really that predictable?" he laughed again, but then his jolliness fell and he seemed to withdraw into himself. His eyes grew distant, like he was watching a vision that only he could see.

"Loki?" Bruce called quietly and Loki's eyes flickered to him again, Loki smiled,

"Sorry." He mumbled, "I…have a lot on my mind." His voice trailed off as his smile faded a second time. Bruce's eyebrow pulled together in concern,

"That's ok. I'll just let you be then." He headed for the door, "Just remember to call if you need anything." He smiled and left the room. Loki sat there and stared at the open book in his lap, but never once did his eyes actually read the printed words. An emotion gripped his chest, one that he'd felt before when Thor had thrown Mjölnir through his bedroom wall, he'd also felt a flicker of it when he'd accidentally kicked Tony into the wall of his workshop, and yet he still didn't know what it was. It made him feel terrible, like his heart was being crushed in an iron fist and it was hard to breath. Along with this unknown feeling, anxiety crawled under his skin, and uncertainty guided his thoughts. He had never felt so unsure of himself before, unsure of who he is or what would happen to his life. And the more he thought about his past, the things he'd done, the people he'd hurt, this unknown feeling grew stronger and stronger, till he felt tears stinging his eyes. His gaze moved from the book's page to the blank wall as he continued to drift in his thoughts. There was only one face that kept appearing in his mind, one person that made the pain in his chest unbearable, one man that made Loki wish he could take everything back. Thor. The only person that had always been there for Loki, through thick and thin, through all Hel, and Loki had hurt him more than anyone else. Yet, despite it all, Thor was the first person to forgive Loki of all trespasses. Loki wanted to lie to himself and say it was just Thor's nature to be so forgiving, but that's not true at all, Thor could hold grudges better than most. Depending on what you'd done to deserve Thor's fury he might even hunt you down for years just to wreak vengeance upon you. And the only person Loki could think of that held grudges better than him or Thor would be Sif, she never let anything go, still to this day she refused to forgive Loki for what he did to her hair even after he'd offered to fix it. When he'd first laid that little curse upon Sif's hair he hadn't the power to change it back, but now that he was much more powerful he offered to return her hair to its natural golden. Sif refused the offer because she was vain, all of Asgard had decided that she was so much more beautiful with her ebony hair, and that's why she kept it. So she continued to hold a grudge on Loki and she would bring it up any chance she had to blame and banter him. At first Loki had only offered to fix her hair because he wanted her to shut up about it already, but now, he really wished he could set it right and that same unknown feeling clawed harder at his heart as he thought about Sif. Just like how Thor and Loki had been best friends all their lives, Loki and Sif had been enemies. In fact, Loki couldn't think of a single time that they'd gotten along or agreed on anything. They were like two cobras trapped together, constantly hissing, spitting, and biting one another, waiting for the other to finally die so the victor could take its place. Loki frowned at these thoughts. He now understood why Sif hated him so much. Not because he'd been mean to her, or because he'd ruined her hair, no…because the man she was in love with had eyes for only Loki. Because Thor was in love with Loki. Loki's face twisted between a mixture of sorrow, disgust, and confusion. How could this be? How could Thor feel this way? And what could Loki do to fix it? Although Thor's feelings had helped in some areas, like his willingness to forgive Loki, it was harming in a lot of other ways, like Sif's hate for Loki and now Thor's hate for Tony. Loki groaned in exhaustion and rubbed his temple with his left index finger, since he couldn't remove his right arm from its sling nor use his middle and ring fingers on his left due to their splints. He closed the book and placed it on the table, having lost all interest in reading, and tried to go back to sleep. He wished Bruce would really give him more drugs so that he could sleep peacefully, because trying to sleep any other way he would still had nightmares. It was truly depressing to know that he could never have peace, not even in sleep. But there must have been enough of the medication still in him because he found it rather easy to drift off and let his eyelids slowly close.

Loki was brought back into consciousness by a familiar voice, although it sounded far away because he was still mostly asleep, he definitely knew who it was,

"I thought you said he was awake?" whispered Tony,

"He was. He must have fallen asleep again, there's still a lot of painkillers in his system and they make you pretty drowsy." Bruce answered in a whisper as well. Loki felt a warm, calloused hand stroke his forehead, the same hand he'd felt right before he'd blacked out, he moaned softly,

"Tony?" he mumbled sleepily and pried his one eye open to see Tony's relieved smile,

"Hey there." Tony cooed sweetly, "How ya feeling?" Loki smiled in return,

"Mostly alright. I can feel the pain relievers wearing off though." He gave a slight grimace and Tony frowned. Tony turned to Bruce,

"Can you give him some more?" he asked. Bruce gave a hesitant look,

"I don't really want to. It's not safe to be on such heavy medication for longer than necessary. It's best if he just deals with the pain." He explained. Tony tried to argue but Loki held up his only moveable hand,

"It's fine, Tony. I'm not in that much pain." He said, "And I've been through worse…" he looked away from Tony as he said that. Tony's thumb was absently rubbing the bandage over Loki's eye and Loki turned to give Bruce a look,

"Can you remove this?" he pointed to the bandage, "I don't like having only one eye." He growled subconsciously. Tony couldn't help snickering,

"Grown an aversion to "one-eyes", huh?" he smiled and Loki nodded. Bruce looked hesitant again,

"I guess I can…it'll probably still be pretty swollen though." He moved closer to start removing the gauze tape, "Your eye socket is fractured…" he told Loki. Loki simply closed his eyes till he felt the warm bandage pulled away from his face. Tony winced loudly and Loki opened his eyes to look at him. He then saw Thor standing by the door, looking rather uncomfortable, and Steve sitting on the other gurney behind Tony. They were all looking at him like his eyeball was hanging out of the socket.

"Wow." Bruce was observing the wound, "It's actually a lot less swollen than I'd thought it would be." He smiled.

"Might I have mirror?" Loki asked and Thor suddenly stepped forward shaking his head,

"I think it best if you do not look…" he said softly. Loki considered it for a second but then shook his head in return and put his hand out to Bruce,

"No. I want a mirror, please." He said. Bruce handed him a large handheld mirror. They all frowned when they saw Loki's reaction to his reflection, his expression twisted between horror and something of agony. A vicious red wound splayed across his right cheek and eye. Cracks like tree branches spread out from as far back as his ear lobe, up to his brow and the bridge of his nose. An injury caused by his skin being broken over his cheek bone and socket, and it would certainly become a scar. Another trophy of battle, a memoir to his never-ending failure, carved into his flesh so that he may never forget. Scars were flaws to remind him of his flaws, of his weaknesses. Never again, he always tells himself, never again, he always lies. But Loki knows well that there is no one in the universe he lies to more than himself. He started breathing heavily as anxiety crept back into his skin. He was hideous…ruined, constantly ruined. Looking at his marred face was like watching a train wreck, he wanted to look away but couldn't. Tony slowly reached for the mirror to take it from Loki, his brown eyes were watching Loki's face carefully. Loki suddenly screamed and despite his arm being in a sling he threw the mirror with such force that it hit the far wall and shattered into a confetti of plastic and glass. No one said a word, and they all took care to not stare at Loki's face. Loki was still panting in a combination of panic and fury, he stared at the blank wall, eyes ablaze with insanity. Tony gently touched Loki's arm, to bring Loki back to reality, and Loki's eyes flickered to Tony. He saw sadness and concern on Tony's face. Loki sighed and visibly relaxed, but there was shame and embarrassment all over his face. Tony leaned a little closer to him,

"Who did this to you? Tell us so we can punish them." Tony whispered. The look Loki gave him was surprising, Loki looked angry yet determined,

"NO." he said with such ferocity that everyone in the room did a double-take.

"What?" Thor, Steve, and Bruce asked in unison. Tony gazed at Loki in confusion,

"What do you mean "no"? You're not gonna tell us who did this?" he asked and Loki nodded,

"That is precisely what I mean. I don't want you to do anything to those men. I do not need to be defended." His voice tailed off at the end, sounding not very sure. Tony threw his hands up,

"What…what?" he babbled, "They almost killed you! That's assault! And they're gonna go to jail for it, just give us their names." He explained.

"No." Loki glared at them now, "I got what I deserved." He said. Tony actually gasped out loud and they all wore the same astonished expression. "I killed one of their friends." Loki continued, "They have every right to hate me…and I got what I deserved…" his voice became very weak and he turned his gaze to the floor.

"I…but…" Tony sighed, "Loki, that doesn't make what they did right." He said and Loki glared at him again,

"And neither does it make what I did right!" he paused to swallow, "But if it makes those men feel any better…then I hold no anger or hate toward them." Tony was shaking his head in disbelief,

"You are CRAZY! I don't care how THEY feel!" he threw his hands up again in frustration, "They hurt you. And I want them put in jail!" he demanded,

"NO!" Loki screamed in fury, "I said NO." he was quieter now, "I accept this as punishment. You, Anthony Stark, are allowing your feelings for me to dictate your judgment. I will NOT change my mind about this and you WILL leave those men alone." Loki's tone was final and Tony glared at him. Bruce stepped forward,

"Ok, ok. Let's relax, please. We don't need Loki aggravating his wounds any further." He was placing a hand on Tony's shoulder urging him to let the matter drop, Tony looked up at him for a second then suddenly rose from his chair and stormed out of the room. Loki looked at Thor and saw a broken look in his eyes, the same look Thor had worn when he'd been forced to sew Loki's lips together, as if Thor knew his very existence was the end all and be all of Loki's suffering. But it wasn't, and Loki longed to tell Thor how his existence might just be the only thing saving Loki, and bringing him happiness. Tony was still a complicated case in Loki's mind, it was obvious that Tony felt deeply for Loki, but to what extent and what did it really matter? Tony would be dead in another sixty years while Loki would live forever, was a relationship with a mortal man really worth the time and effort? Loki sighed and he suddenly wished Tony hadn't left the room because he now wanted to be held and comforted. Steve got up off the other bed and looked at Loki softy,

"You know, I understand that you want to be forgiven and redeem yourself…but…this" he gestured to Loki and his injuries then Steve shook his head, "Just wasn't right. No matter what the reason, it's never ok to senselessly beat another person." He gave Loki a sad look and turned to leave. Loki threw his hand out to Steve,

"Wait!" he called and Steve turned around in surprise, "Steve…I wish to speak to you…" he gave Bruce and Thor a slight smile, "Alone, please." He said and although Thor's face showed reluctance he still left the room, Bruce right behind him. Steve sat down in the plastic chair that Tony had been in earlier and looked at Loki with honest interest,

"What can I help with?" he smiled. Loki placed his hand on his chest and stared off blankly for a second,

"I…have this feeling, an emotion…it keeps coming back, and it hurts…but I don't know what it is…all I know is that I've never felt it before…" he spoke quietly. Steve nodded slightly,

"Can you explain what it feels like exactly?" he asked. Loki fought tears back,

"It is not sorrow, but it brings sorrow with it. And…and I can't stop thinking of everything I've ever done, and these thoughts only make the feeling worse. Then I find myself wishing that there was some way I could take everything back…" he whispered the last sentence. Steve's face lit up in understanding and astonishment,

"Loki…I'm pretty sure that your feeling regret." He said. Loki looked at him with an open, innocent face and confusion,

"Regret? What…what does that mean?" he wondered. Steve was seriously shocked,

"Well…it means that you feel bad about your actions in the past, about the things you've done. Everybody does stuff in their life that they regret, that they wish they could take back. You…you've seriously never felt regret before?" he asked incredulously. Loki looked unsure of himself,

"I'm quite sure, yes. I…never had a _reason_ to regret anything. I believed that I had nothing left to lose and that death would be a sweet escape, so what was there to regret?" he shrugged his left shoulder. Steve nodded in understanding,

"And, what, might I ask, is your reason now?" he inquired. Loki thought about it for a minute,

"Perhaps…knowing that Thor never truly hated me all this time…and redemption. I was never really given a chance at redemption before, but you, The Avengers, for whatever reasons have decided to give me that chance. And now I fear that I will screw it up, just like I screw up everything." He said. Steve put a gentle, yet strong, hand upon Loki's shoulder and looked him right in the eyes,

"No, you won't. The fact that this regret has suddenly come to you and is actually affecting you like this is proof enough that you won't screw it up. The fear of failure, loneliness, and more regret is what will motivate you. I know how badly you want this, Loki, I know how badly you want to be accepted, I can see it. Just don't give up on yourself." He smiled wider and gave Loki's shoulder a little squeeze, "You can do this." He said with vigor. Loki looked at him for just a second before he couldn't hold those tears back anymore and he threw himself around Steve's shoulders, sobbing like a child all over again. Steve was completely thrown off by this sudden display of emotion.

"I'm so sorry!" Loki cried into Steve's shirt, "I'm sorry. I was so scared! I thought they were going to kill me, beat me to death, and the whole time all I could think of was how I would die alone! With no one to hold me and tell me that everything will be alright, no one who loves me, or cares if I'm gone." He was clutching Steve as if Steve was the only thing keeping him alive. Steve gently hugged him back, not really knowing what else to do. Loki pulled back to look Steve in the eyes, "Please, don't let me die like that. I'll do anything! I don't want to hurt people anymore. I…just don't want to die alone…" Steve couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes as he looked at Loki terrified and despite. "Please…help me…" A new flow of tears ran down Loki's pale face. Steve knew what it was like to be alone, when he'd first awoke in this new century, this future, he was all alone. Steve was traumatized by the fact that he'd "fallen asleep" while his family and friends grew and died, all without him, and he'll never stop believing that he doesn't belong here, in this time, he should have died alongside his friends, his loved ones. But he couldn't change that, and now he has new a family that he loves dearly when not too long ago he had nothing but trauma and confusion. Now here in front of him was man in very much those same shoes. Steve smiled in earnest and nodded,

"Of course I'm going to help you." He said gently and hugged Loki again, "It's ok. You're not gonna die alone, I won't let you." He stroked Loki's hair soothingly and he felt the slighter man relaxing slowly. "Don't be afraid." He pulled Loki away and held him at arm's length, "We just need to teach you how to live all over again, how to be kind and caring, how to interact with people, etcetera." he chuckled, "But you're a bright man, you'll learn quickly I'm sure." Steve turned to his left and grabbed a tissue from the box on the bedside table then handed it to Loki. Loki absently took the tissue and dried his face then blew his nose. Steve was still smiling at him when he finally looked at him again,

"It just all feels so hopeless…" Loki sounded absolutely pitiful.

"No, nothing is hopeless." Steve assured him, "It's just going to take time." He smiled jokingly, "And for someone who's immortal, time shouldn't be an issue." He said. Loki gave a slight chuckle,

"WAS immortal, I'm not anymore." He corrected then gestured to his wounds, "Obviously." He mumbled.

"This is only temporary. We're going to get you changed back. I promise." Steve said. Loki rolled his eyes playfully,

"So I keep hearing." He smiled and Steve laughed,

"We're working on it!" he said. Loki's smile faded just a fraction,

"You…um…you won't tell anybody about this, will you?" he asked and Steve saw the potential embarrassment in Loki's eyes. He smiled again,

"Of course not. I would never do that." He said sternly. Loki relaxed again,

"Thank you, Steven. For all of this, for everything." Steve hugged him again,

"Don't even worry about it. As long as you're willing to accept my help, I'll give it." Loki laid back on the bed and yawned,

"Ugh, bother, crying makes you tired." He said and they both laughed. Steve stood to leave,

"You should rest, you'll heal faster." He told Loki and Loki nodded,

"That sounds good to me." He said through another yawn, "Good night Steve." He mumbled already half asleep.

"Good night, Loki." Steve whispered as he left the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Gosh! Everybody loved my drama in the last chapter, SO HERE'S SOME MORE! I'm really really trying to delve into the minds of each character, so hopefully these chapters will be nice and long.

** Notes from the last chapter that I forgot to add at the end because I was fucking tired: The story A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison was made into a movie of the same name, it's an incredible story you should read/watch it. And the short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison was made into a videogame of the same name in 1995, again it's an amazing story and he is one of my all-time fav authors. Check him out!

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><p>Tony hadn't slept in a week, nor had he showered or even left his room. He sat on the floor by his bedroom window, five bottles of Jack Daniel's littered around him, and four were empty. He couldn't understand why Loki refused to turn in those men, and it was killing him. But why? Loki wanted to be strong, Tony could see that, but Tony wanted to protect him and defend him, and Loki wasn't letting him. He took another swig of his bottle and continued to stare blankly at the wall. Worthless…so worthless, the word just echoed eternally in his mind. Always worthless, can't do anything right, that's you Stark, he told himself. He wanted to be by Loki's bedside, giving him comfort while he was healing, but after Loki had yelled at him he just couldn't face him. And Loki's poor face…Tony frowned at the image of that awful scar that now covered half of Loki's face. It caused Loki so much pain, those scars, those flaws, to be disfigured and Tony knew it was his fault. If he'd protected Loki like he should have then Loki wouldn't have gotten hurt and he wouldn't have that awful scar. Loki was of course still beautiful, he'd always be beautiful, but only in the eyes of others. To Loki he was the Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Beast, Edward Scissorhands, the pinnacle of hideousness, forever alone and shunned. Tony should be trying harder to change that, to make Loki see how beautiful he is, but how can Tony teach someone else to accept themself when he can't do it for himself. Tony took another drink then reached out to his left and pulled the bedside drawer open, his hand fumbled inside for a minute before finally gripping a heavy metal object and pulling it out. He held the object in front of himself. It was his father's gun; he knew that because he'd shown the gun to Steve and Steve had told him he'd seen Howard carrying it back during the war. Tony frowned at the black metal, then he gripped the handle firmly and pressed the gun against his left temple.<p>

"Bang." He whispered to the darkness and took another drink, a longer one this time, swallowing in large gulps. He didn't even hear the bedroom door open or see Loki enter the room until he heard Loki speak,

"What are you doing?" Loki spoke in a low, deliberate tone.

"He couldn't believe how easy it was…" Tony mumbled drunkenly, "To put the gun into his face…" he pretended to shot himself then glanced up at Loki, "Problems do have solutions, ya know? A lifetime of fucking things up, fixed, in one determined flash…*" he went to take another drink but Loki pulled the bottle from his hands,

"Are you quoting song lyrics?" he asked, "You are pathetic." He threw the bottle against the far wall, it didn't shatter but clattered to the floor and spilled out over the carpet. He then gestured to the gun Tony was still holding against his head, "Here, let me help you hold that gun against your head." He snapped sarcastically, "Or better yet, give it to me and I'll shoot you!" He snatched the gun with lightening reflexes, Tony didn't even react, he was far too drunk.

"Hey, that's not nice…" he slurred, "Friends are supposed to stop each other from committing suicide." Loki laughed without humor and slapped Tony across his face with his left hand, since his right was still in a sling,

"Idiot!" Loki slapped him again, "What are you doing!" his voice cracked at the end, "You wanna kill yourself? Do it after **I'm** dead!" he slapped Tony a third time, this time much harder than the first two, "How dare you! You selfish, piece of shit!" Tony finally leveled his gaze with Loki's glare,

"Selfish?" he mumbled pitifully, "But…I…try to do everything for you…" he started wibbling. Loki dropped to his knees to be eye level with Tony and gripped Tony's jaw harshly,

"How is drinking yourself into a stupor and shooting yourself in the head going to help me?" he demanded.

"Well, I'd be out of your way." He giggled like an idiot then started crying again, "I failed…" Loki looked at him in confusion,

"Failed? Failed what?" he asked.

"Protecting you, and taking care of you. I'm a suckish boyfriend. I always fuck up everything…" he was slurring heavily but Loki could still understand him. Loki sighed.

"You haven't failed. I do not need you to protect me, Anthony, I've taken care of myself just fine all my life." He said.

"HAH! Yeah! And look where THAT got you!" Tony laughed. Loki glared again,

"I'm going to ignore that comment because you're drunk…" he mumbled.

"And you yelled at me…" Tony whined, Loki looked at him in disgust,

"Oh my god…how can I even handle you?" he grumbled in annoyance and rolled his eyes, "You're a freaking baby!" he slapped Tony again but just lightly, "Grow some balls or I'm gonna yell at you a lot more!" Tony chuckled and looked at Loki suggestively,

"Oh I've got some balls." He waggled his eyebrows. Loki rolled his eyes again and ignored Tony, but he really looked at Tony's face and started frowning,

"How long have you been sitting in the dark like this?" he wondered, but the sallow look in Tony's cheeks, the full grown beard, and heavily red rimmed, puffy eyes told him that Tony had been like this for a while. He groaned,

"Get up." He grabbed Tony's bicep and attempted to pull him to his feet. Loki had only one useable arm so it was rather difficult to heave the heavily inebriated Tony unto his feet, and Tony's swaying didn't help any. He shoved Tony to the bathroom and made him get on his knees in front of the toilet. He grabbed Tony's toothbrush from the countertop then sat down on the rim of the bathtub. He leaned forward to grip Tony's jaw in his right hand, which was still in the sling,

"You'll thank me for this later." He said, then shoved the toothbrush in Tony's mouth, he pushed it as far as he could without actually choking Tony and made him gag until he began vomiting. Loki tossed the toothbrush into the sink and washed his hand. Once Tony started vomiting he didn't stop till there was nothing left in his gut, so Loki turned on the shower and waited for Tony to stop puking.

"Uuhhh…" Tony moaned against the toilet seat and Loki chuckled. He began pulling Tony's shirt over his head, it took a few minutes but he finally got all of Tony's clothes off and shoved him into the shower. Tony just slumped into the bathtub, drifting in and out of consciousness, while Loki sat on the rim of the tub to wash Tony's hair and shave his face. Loki didn't even bother with Tony's ridiculous signature mustache, he just shaved it all off. He leaned back to admire Tony's face, he nodded in approval deciding that he rather liked Tony without facial hair, it made him look much younger. Now if I could just convince him to shave the REST of himself, he thought while looking at Tony's stomach and lower. Tony had to be one of the hairiest men Loki had ever seen naked, or maybe all that body hair was just a human thing, Loki shrugged and started brushing Tony's teeth. Tony was mumbling in his sleep and his face twitched occasionally which made Loki laugh. Loki then turned the water all the way to cold and stood up, it only took a second for the warm water to switch to icy cold and Tony squealed, jumping up and out of the bath. He stood there in horrified shook and confusion,

"What the fuck?" he was still pretty drunk, and now shivering. Loki laughed,

"Well it was far easier than trying to pick you up again." He explained and threw a towel around Tony's shivering frame. "Come on." He ushered him out of the bathroom and into bed. He lightly dried Tony off but didn't bother to dress him, he just pulled the blankets up around Tony and kissed his forehead, "Sleep it off, ya big idiot." He mumbled then proceeded to clean up the bedroom floor.

Tony was awakened by the succulent smell of pork chops and mash potatoes.

"Oh…" he moaned in hunger and quickly blinked the sleep from his eyes. He followed the scent to his left and saw a full plate of food and a glass of water on the bedside table. He started drooling and licked his parched lips. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked down in realization that he was naked.

"What?" he wondered and started looking around the room for an explanation. He found that his balcony doors were wide open and Loki was outside leaning against the banister, staring off at the sunset. Tony quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants and went to stand beside Loki. He involuntarily shivered, the winter chill was definitely in the air, meaning summer was officially over. Loki glanced at him from the corner of his eye and smiled,

"And how is my little alcoholic feeling?" he joked. Tony laughed,

"Shitty. But you make it better." He wrapped his arms tightly around Loki's waist and pulled him close, burying his face into Loki's neck. He moaned in the delight of just touching Loki and smelling him. He pulled back suddenly and his hand flew up to his chin, he stroked the bare skin there and stared at Loki in horror. Loki laughed.

"NO!" Tony cried out throwing his hands up to the sky, Loki only laughed harder, "My 'stache! My awesome Stark 'Stache! You…!" he pointed at Loki in mock hatred, Loki was almost on the floor he was laughing so hard, "You wicked, wicked, evil, bitch! HOW COULD YOU!" Tony was trying to look like he might cry, but couldn't help laughing.

"Well," Loki stopped laughing long enough to catch his breath, "That'll teach you to drink yourself to death for a week." He said. Tony laughed. "Besides," Loki reached up to run the back of his left hand across Tony's smooth face, "I like you like this." He purred and Tony blushed. Loki began pushing him back inside, "Now sit down and eat." He commanded. Tony crawled back into the bed and pulled the dinner plate into his lap,

"So, did you like, bathe me?" he spoke with a mouth full of pork chop. Loki sat down at the foot of the bed and faced Tony,

"Yes." He said simply. Tony chuckled,

"That must have been fun." He shook his head, "I can't remember a thing."

"Figures." Loki frowned, "You were in the middle of polishing off your fifth bottle of Daniel's." he said, a bite of anger in his tone. Tony gazed at him in embarrassment and regret,

"Sorry." He said. Loki just shrugged. "I don't know…I just get into these bouts of depression. It kills me." Tony explained.

"No shit." Loki dead-panned, "Alcohol and guns tend to do that." Tony looked up in shock,

"What? Guns?" he asked. Loki pointed to the hand gun that he'd placed on top of the other bedside table. Tony gasped, "Oh no…" he frowned.

"Oh yes. You started quoting Nine Inch Nails while holding that against your head." Loki told him. "Thankfully for your drunken ass Steve told me he'd taken all the bullets a while ago, so the gun was empty." He raised an eyebrow, "You should thank Steve, he looks out for you a whole lot more than you deserve." Tony sighed,

"Yeah…I know. Thank you, ya know, for cleaning me up." He tried to smile, but Loki wasn't showing him any emotion in return, so he looked away awkwardly. A strange silence filled the room as Tony finished eating and Loki just watched him. Tony placed the now empty plate back on the bedside table and slammed down the glass of water.

"Mmm. Thanks for the food!" he smiled and when he looked back at Loki he jumped to find Loki was barely inches from his face, "Woah…" he said in surprise. Loki had removed the sling and snaked his right hand behind Tony's neck, while leaning on his left hand, and pulled Tony into a deep kiss. Tony was totally thrown off by the amount of passion that was suddenly pouring out of Loki and he sat there frozen for a second before he could react to Loki's warm lips. He blinked a few times then gently pulled Loki into his lap, not breaking the kiss at all. Loki moved his hands to pin Tony onto the bed then he pulled back to look Tony in the eyes,

"You cannot kill yourself." He whispered passionately, "I _need_ you, Anthony." His eyes were reflecting the sunset that was behind them, causing his eyes to glow and shine a beautiful, fiery orange. Tony's breath almost stopped as he just stared at Loki, he lightly shook his head as Loki's words registered,

"I…I'm sorry…" he whispered in return, "I won't…I won't kill myself. I'm here…for you…I promise." He stuttered, still staring into those stunning eyes. Loki smiled, it was soft and loving, and Tony thought that it must be the most peaceful expression he'd ever seen on Loki's face, while he was awake at least. Loki sat up and started removing his clothes, and for some reason Tony felt embarrassed. There was something…changed…about Loki, and he wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but he was sure he liked it. Loki yanked Tony's hastily thrown on sweatpants off then pulled Tony on top of him. Tony was blushing uncontrollably, but it didn't bother him, and he suddenly had this insatiable urge to touch every inch of Loki. So he did. Slowly, softly, and deliberately he placed kisses along Loki's jaw and worked his way down to Loki's collarbone, his hands stroked the wonderful curve of Loki's waist. Loki made no sound and didn't move, he had his head slightly tilted back and his eyes closed, with just his left hand in Tony's hair. Time no longer existed to them and Tony went as slow as he wanted, kissing literally every inch of Loki. From one delicate finger to the next, along his milky thighs, and down to his soft, little toes Tony rubbed his face into Loki's sweet skin then brought himself back up to Loki's smiling face. Loki giggled. He actually just fucking giggled, Tony thought in shock and wonder.

"Goodness." Loki blushed a ripe pink, "I don't think I've ever been so admired before." His voice was so innocent, yet lusty at the same time, and it made any logical thoughts that Tony might have had vanish completely.

"Well, things of such great beauty certainly should be admired more often." He answered, "And thoroughly." He winked. Loki breathed out a soft moan,

"Why is it that you are so much more articulate when in bed with me? Can't you be this romantic all the time?" he smiled in all fondness. Tony chuckled,

"Guess I could try." He shrugged. Tony opened the bedside drawer to their right and removed a bottle of lubricant,

"See, here in my room I'm actually properly prepared." He chuckled again. Loki didn't hesitate at all to move his legs and wrap them around Tony's waist while Tony coated himself in the clear, slippery fluid.

"Ahh!" Loki threw his head back in pleasure and yanked Tony's hair roughly as Tony entered him. Tony just growled into Loki's throat. Tony had already decided that sex with Loki was amazing, but there was something very different about this time. There was none of the horny, adolescent harshness that had been the majority of their sex before, but instead erotic, almost choreographed, pornographic perfection. Even though Tony had sworn to himself that he would never say the phrase, or even think it, he truly believed he'd actually "made love" to someone for the first time in his life. And it felt like losing his virginity all over again. He never thought he could feel so much honest passion before, and he was pretty sure he never wanted to have sex with anyone else ever again. He wanted this to last forever, to have this euphoric tingle crawl beneath his skin ever more and have the smell of Loki trapped upon him, to have the breathtaking images and sounds of Loki beneath him carved into his memory where it will play on an eternal loop. But all too quickly it ended, and they laid there panting in satisfaction, limbs still tangled around each other's. Loki was gripping Tony into his chest and stroking his head sweetly,

"Anthony?" he called softly.

"Yeah, babe?" Tony responded. There was pause.

"I love you." Loki whispered. Tony's heart skipped a beat. He sat up unto his elbows to look Loki in the eyes,

"What?" he whispered, as if he'd misheard. Loki smiled, a slight blush creeping back into his cheeks,

"I love you." He said louder. Tony's face split into a wide grin and he hugged Loki with ferocity,

"I love you too, gorgeous." He said. Loki closed his eyes and let out a breath, as if a great weight had just been lifted from his chest, like he was letting go of some anxiety that had been plaguing him for so long. For the first time in a very long time Loki slept in honest bliss, not a single nightmare or dark shadow haunted his dreams that night.

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><p>Knocking at the bedroom door woke them both up the next morning. Loki glanced at the clock, it was almost ten AM. He gently scratched Tony's head and Tony took in a deep breath. Another knock sounded,<p>

"Yes?" Loki called.

"Is it safe to come in?" Steve answered. Loki looked down at his and Tony's naked bodies and chuckled,

"Probably not." He replied.

"Oh…" the embarrassment was audible in Steve's voice, "Well…um…we're all planning on going ice skating, if you guys want to join us…" he said. Before Loki could ask what ice skating was Tony sat up quickly,

"Yes." He answered, now suddenly wide awake. He turned to grin at Loki, "You'll love it." He said then hopped up to find clothes.

"Ok!" Steve said with excitement, "Then we'll wait for you guys in the living room." Tony pulled on a nice pair of fitted grey jeans, a long sleeve navy blue shirt, and grey snow boots. He ran his head under the bathroom sink faucet to fix his hair, and then brushed his teeth, he made a face at the hairlessness of his chin but there was nothing he could till it grew back. Loki was pulling on a dark mauve colored sweater and Tony admired the color for a minute, it reminded him of a pale rose,

"I like that." He said and Loki glanced at him, "You look good in other colors than green." He teased. Loki just smiled and slipped into his favorite tight black pants and brown boots. Tony wrapped a scarf around himself, then his leather jacket and light coat on top of that, and finally some gloves. He had bought similar winter items for Loki a couple weeks ago, but it hadn't been cold enough to need them yet, so now he held them in his hands and offered them to Loki. Loki frowned,

"I never needed such things before. I think I'll be fine, thank you." He replied and opened the bedroom door to step out. Tony made a face and brought the clothes articles with him. They met the others down stairs in the living room, Clint jumped off the couch in excitement when he saw them,

"WOOO! Let's go!" he bolted for the front door. Bruce laughed,

"He's a little excited." He told Loki and Loki smiled. Steve was giving Tony a weird look,

"You shaved." He commented. Loki giggled from the sideline.

"No, actually Loki shaved me." Tony said with a laugh, "Don't worry about it." He waved his hand dismissively and walked away. Steve looked at Loki and took in his glowing appearance, he smiled,

"Somebody's happy today." He said and nudged Loki with an elbow. Loki couldn't stop himself from grinning,

"Oh? Who?" he put on a face of innocence. Steve put his arm around Loki's shoulders,

"I'm glad to see you doing better." He smiled, "You sure you're healed enough to be going outside?" he asked with concern. Loki nodded,

"Nothing's broken anymore. Just some sore bruises and my shoulder still hurts occasionally. But I'm fine." He assured. Steve nodded and they followed everyone else outside. Tony was swinging his car keys and whistling but Steve reached out and took the keys,

"We're walking." He said and put the keys back inside the house then closed and locked the front door.

"Whaaat?" Tony whined, "I can't walk. I'm a cripple." He made a show of having a twisted leg and limped around. Loki shook his head,

"Being an alcoholic doesn't make you a cripple. Perhaps a handicap, but you can still walk." He started pushing Tony along. Tony huffed in defiance, but walked anyways. Clint was practically sprinting around like an extremely excited dog. Loki watched him with worry,

"Is he all right?" he asked Bruce and Bruce just laughed,

"Yeah, he just really loves ice skating." He explained. Loki gave him an interested look,

"What is this "ice skating"? Something we watch?" he wondered.

"Nah. You put on a pair of boots that have metal blades on the bottom and you literally skate around on ice. It's kinda hard, but fun once you figure it out. Clint is really good." Bruce told him. Loki nodded,

"Oh!" he said in understanding, "Me, Thor, and our Warrior's Three used to slide around on frozen ponds when we were younger. But we just wore our regular boots. And fell down…a lot." He laughed. "Speaking of Thor…" Loki looked around them, wondering where Thor was. Thor was in the front, walking alongside Steve and Natasha, enjoying a conversation. It bothered Loki slightly that Thor had not said a word to him all day, not even his usual annoying "Good Morning" shout. Loki's face fell and he frowned, was Thor mad at him? He watched as Steve slowly wrapped his hands around Thor's forearm and slightly leaned into the larger man. Loki's face lit up in surprise, he glanced around to see if Tony or Bruce had caught this sight as well, but neither of them were paying any attention. He looked back at Steve, who was _definitely_ leaning against Thor, but Thor didn't seem to notice or maybe he was just used to it. As if Thor had actually heard Loki's thoughts he suddenly pulled his arm from Steve's hands and put it around Steve's shoulders to pull him even closer. Loki actually gasped out loud and Tony turned to look at him,

"What is it?" he asked then turned to see what Loki was looking at. He laughed. "What? Steve and Thor? Don't go jumping to conclusions there, those two have been pretty close for a while." He shrugged like it was the least important thing in the world. Loki pursed his lips and couldn't really decide how he felt about this. He'd be glad if Thor would get over him, but a little tingle in his chest told him he'd be jealous too. He sniffed his nose suddenly and grumbled, he stopped walking and looked at his fingers, which were red with irritation.

"What is wrong with my body?" he suddenly said and everyone stopped to look at him, "I cannot feel my hands, and they are stiff…Ow…and they hurt…" he whined and made a pout at Tony, "And my face is much the same. What is going on?" he sounded a little panicked. Tony laughed.

"It's called the cold. I told you you would need more clothes." He still had the extra garments laid across his shoulders so he pulled them into his hands.

"Cold?" he looked at his numb hands again, "_THIS_ is what the cold feels like?" he looked at the others and they were all nodding, "THIS IS HORRID! I hate it!" he cried out and they all laughed. Tony was slipping some nice fur-lined leather gloves unto Loki's thin hands.

"Yup." He said and wrapped a thick scarf around Loki's neck then placed a fur-lined hat atop his head, the kind of hat that had ear flaps. He'd also been holding a black coat in his arms and he now held it open for Loki to slip his arms into. Loki smiled sweetly at him,

"You brought all this stuff for me?" he wondered as Tony buttoned up the knee length coat.

"Yup. Cause I knew you'd need it. You've never had to deal with the cold before and if I hadn't brought this stuff you'd get sick." He explained. Loki shook his head,

"Never in a thousand years did I think I would say this…but I can't wait to be a Frost Giant again." He said, Tony laughed loudly and slipped his arm around Loki's waist. Loki lightly kissed Tony's smooth cheek,

"Thank you." He cooed, "You're a good boyfriend, being so considerate and concerned for me." He nuzzled Tony and Tony giggled,

"Aww, you're welcome." He said embarrassedly. Loki thought it best to make an effort in telling Tony these things, to let the man know that he wasn't worthless at all and that Loki truly appreciated him. They all stopped at the nearby Starbuck's first to grab hot chocolates and coffees, then continued to Central Park, which wasn't far away. When they finally reached their destination Loki was impressed by the size of the skating rink, there were already a handful of people skating around but it was certainly big enough for many more people. They sat down on some wooden benches and Clint placed a big duffel bag on the ground. Loki realized he hadn't even known Clint had been caring this bag. Clint opened the bag and began removing ice skates from it. He handed a white pair to Bruce first, then a pair that was decorated with the American flag was handed to Steve, _obviously_. Loki laughed at the sight of everyone's custom boots. Thor's were silver and red, and even had little white wings on the sides. Clint's were bright purple and fuchsia, Loki shook his head at them, they certainly _were not_ conspicuous. Tony's were gold and hot-rod red, naturally, Peter's surprisingly were light grey, and Natasha's were black. Clint was the first with his skates on and was already making his way to the rink, hollering at Bruce,

"C'mon!" he shouted cheerfully. Bruce blushed a little as he fumbled with his laces. Loki wondered what he was supposed to wear, and he frowned a little. Tony suddenly gave his arm a squeeze,

"Me and you are waiting on Pepper, she has your boots. I had them made a couple days ago, but I didn't know we were gonna skate today or I would have already got them." He explained and Loki smiled,

"Oh, ok. That's alright." He said and they both sat down to watch the others. Peter had already fallen down and was pouting, but Steve was there to help him up.

"You guys do this often?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, every year." Tony took a sip of his coffee, "The staff here even knows all of us by name now." He laughed. A sleek black car pulled up to the curb all the sudden and Ms. Potts stepped out. Loki was slightly startled to see that she wasn't in a dress suit, but instead a nice pair of jeans and a baby blue turtle neck with her hair in a bun atop her head. She had two pairs of skates in her hands, one much smaller than the other, so Loki assumed they were hers. The larger pair was completely gold with black laces. Loki chuckled and shook his head. Pepper came over to them with a grin on her face,

"Hey, sorry I took so long." She said and leaned down to place a little kiss on Tony's cheek,

"Nah, you're fine. We've only been here for a minute." He said and took the skates from her hands to give them to Loki and smile. Loki took them and scrutinized them for a minute,

"Golden, huh?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, nobody else has gold. And besides, gold is only for the best of people." Tony teased in response, he was removing his snow boots to replace them with his own skates. Pepper was drinking the rest of his coffee. Loki took off his own brown boots and began wiggling his feet into the ice skates, once he was comfortable with the feel he looked up at Tony in slight embarrassment,

"I…um…need help, with this…" he pointed at the laces. Tony looked confused,

"Ya just pull 'em tight and tie them, just like regular shoes." He explained. Loki blushed a little,

"I've never tied shoes before, Anthony. We don't have laces in Asgard, most of our boots are metal buckles and leather straps." Loki countered. Tony glanced at the brown boots that Loki had just been wearing and sure enough they had zippers, not laces.

"Oh." He said then got unto his knees to fasten Loki's skates. Tony stood up and admired his handy work, he thought the gold boots looked really cool with Loki's black pants. He put his hand out and pulled Loki to his feet,

"Follow me." Tony said and turned around. Loki frowned a little,

"Shouldn't we wait for Pepper?" he asked. Pepper waved a hand,

"No no, it's fine sweetie. I'm just gonna relax here for a minute, then I'll join you guys." She smiled. Loki nodded then attempted to follow Tony. It was extremely awkward trying to walk in ice skates, Loki kept tripping and stumbling, he cursed at the shoes and Tony laughed,

"Come on, just down the steps and you're good." He said and held his hand out to help Loki down the three stairs. Tony slid on to the ice without much trouble, he wobbled for a second them corrected himself and put his hand out again for Loki. Loki took a deep breath and stepped on to the ice, taking Tony's hand. His momentum had been too much and he tilted forward, he tried to stop himself and the startled Tony tried to grab him but it was too late and they both ended up a pile of limbs on the cold ice. Tony cackled, but Loki was terribly embarrassed and looked like he was going to cry.

"Aww!" Tony soothed him, "It's ok, don't even worry about it. It takes practice. Come on…" he gave Loki a light push, "Just get up." He instructed. Loki tried to push himself back on to his feet but kept sliding all over. He sat down on the ice and pouted up at Tony looking totally pitiful. Tony was still laughing. Clint went flying past them, skating on only one foot and then switching to skate backwards. Loki frowned more.

"This isn't what I thought!" he stated, "And Clint makes it look **SO** easy." Tony laughed some more,

"Well, Clint's been skating for a long time, babe. He's better than any of us, part of that Secret Agent Training, ya know?" he joked, "Don't compare yourself to him." He leaned down to grabbed Loki's arm, "Come on, ya can't just sit here." He pulled as hard as he could and Loki finally got on his feet again. Loki quickly grabbed the side wall of the rink and tried to force his feet sliding out from underneath him. Pepper slid up next to Tony and smiled at Loki,

"Aw come on." She placed her hands on her hips, "You mean to tell me those gorgeous, strong legs can't ice skate?" she teased with a sweet smile. Tony snickered,

"We've come to find that there's _a lot _Loki can't do without magic." He told her. Loki glared at him.

"Shut up, Anthony." He snapped. Pepper leaned into Tony's ear,

"Why does he call you Anthony?" she whispered. Tony shrugged,

"I don't know, it's just something he started doing. But I like it." He smiled. Thor and Steve passed them, skating slowly and talking quietly to each other, Steve seemed to be elaborating something with gestures of his hands and Thor was listening intently. Loki frowned at them, he was starting to miss Thor. Perhaps this is what they call "separation anxiety", he wondered to himself. He took a determined breath and let go of the wall, standing up straighter. He started by just slowly sliding his feet forward, but his natural brain functions told him to lift his feet, and then the toe of the blade caught on the ice and sent him tripping forward again. He fell into the wall and scrambled to not fall on the ice. Tony was grabbing him and help him stand up. Loki sighed,

"This is not fun." He stated and made sure to show just how miserable he was. Tony gave him a little frown,

"Everybody has to go through this when they first try to skate." He said,

"Yes, when they are _SIX YEARS OLD_!" Loki argued, "I look _ridiculous_ over here!"

"That's not true! Thor was in the exact same place just a few years ago, he looked WAY more ridiculous." Tony grinned. Loki looked a little relieved,

"Really?" he wondered and Tony nodded with a laugh. Loki smiled, well _good_, he thought to himself, serves Thor right. But it didn't really sooth Loki's embarrassment. Tony and Pepper moved on either side of Loki, each of them holding Loki's arms to steady him.

"Now just watch the other skaters, like Steve, and copy them." Tony instructed, "I can't really explain how to do it, you just have to figure it out." Loki watched some other skaters for a minute than started watching his feet as he tried to move, he was slowly getting the hang of it when suddenly two skaters went flying past them and he flinched. In doing so he lost his footing and fell on his ass, Tony had grabbed the side wall to stop himself from falling, but Pepper had landed on top of Loki. Loki groaned,

"This is hopeless…can we go home now?" he whined like a child. Pepper got back on her feet,

"Did I hurt you?" she asked, Loki shook his head and started unlacing the skates to remove them. Tony sighed,

"Ok. We'll go. It was worth a shot." He shrugged, he took Loki's skates from him and they made their way to the exit. Steve and Thor were passing by again and Steve looked at Loki with worry,

"We're going home." Tony told him, "Loki's giving up." Steve nodded,

"Ok. We'll see you guys later. Pick something for dinner." He said and returned to his conversation with Thor. Thor gave Loki a vague wave good-bye and Loki tried to smile in return but Thor hadn't actually been looking at him. Loki frowned deeply again. Loki and Tony enjoyed some hot chocolates and peace and quiet in the warm living room. Neither one said a word as they nuzzled close together and reminisced in the comfortable silence. Loki had decided on seafood for dinner, so it was being prepared by Tony's suddenly fully staffed kitchen while they awaited the other's return home. Dinner was served almost exactly when the rest of the team got home, but as they made their way to the dining room Steve lightly grabbed Loki's arm and pulled him aside. Loki looked at him in surprise,

"Is something wrong?" he asked, voice heavy with worry, but Steve had a soft smile on his face.

"No, not really. I just wanted to talk for a minute…" he started to blush, "Thor…told me…everything…" he spoke very quietly, "About how he feels. He came to me for advise, because he's terrified of losing you." He locked his gaze with Loki's. Loki didn't know how to respond,

"And…?" he nervously urged. Steve blushed even more and began glancing down at his feet,

"Well…I told him the best thing would be to find someone else. Perhaps someone he already knows well enough to like, and can distract him from you." He looked at Loki for a second before looking back at his feet, "So…I…asked him if he'd be interested in me at all…" he trailed off, eyes looking anywhere but at Loki. Loki was a little surprised by Steve's embarrassment,

"And he said…?" he waved his hand for Steve to continue.

"Well, he's really unsure of himself, but he said he'd love to try." He looked at Loki through his eyelashes, sheepishly, "I just thought it would be fair for me to tell you." Loki chuckled and squished Steve in warm hug,

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, "He's all yours. I don't mind at all." He was grinning with excitement, "I think this will make things much better." Steve hugged him back,

"I hope so. Now let's get some dinner." They both made their way into the dining room and Steve took a seat between Thor and Clint while Loki sat next to Tony at the opposite end of the table. Steve leaned into Thor's ear for a minute before Thor looked up at Loki with a big, cheerful grin. Loki gave him a friendly wink of understanding and Thor nodded. After dinner Loki was feeling slightly dizzy so he went to bed early.

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><p>Loki woke up the next morning to a horrid scratching in his throat and he couldn't breathe through his nose.<p>

"Ughhh." He moaned, "Tony…?" he called out and Tony gave a grunt in reply, "I don't feel so good…" Tony sat up and switched on a light, he rubbed his eyes for a minute then looked at Loki. He made a worried face at the flushed color in Loki's cheeks and the puffiness of his eyes. He gently placed the back of his hand against Loki's forehead and whistled.

"Aww, baby. I think you got sick anyways." He frowned, "I'm so sorry." Loki looked distraught,

"Sick? Sick? What does that even mean?" he whined, voice very nasally. Tony chuckled softly at the way Loki's voice sounded now,

"It's something that happens to mortals all the time. From being out in the cold you catch viruses and they make you ill for a little while. It'll go away." He assured, "I'll get you some tea and medicine." He climbed out of the bed and pulled on a thick bath robe,

"You mean I've caught a terrestrial virus!" Loki continued to whine, "This is OUTRAGEOUS! I will not stand for this! I demand it to be gotten rid of IMMEDIATELY!" he shouted. Tony laughed,

"You can't just get rid of it. You have to wait till your body fights it away. You can make it." He explained then left the room as Loki continued to whine loudly. Steve was making breakfast,

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully, "Loki still sleeping?" he wondered. Tony shook his head as he poured a cup of coffee,

"No. He's sick." He answered. Steve looked surprised,

"Aww! Poor guy. He was only outside for an hour yesterday." He frowned. Tony took a sip of his coffee then started making Loki's tea,

"Yeah, but before that he was immune to the cold and illness. He's got no defenses now." He said. Steve nodded,

"Is he gonna be ok?" he asked. Tony shrugged,

"Probably. It's just a cold." He picked up his coffee and Loki's tea, then tucked a bottle of cold medicine under his arm and left the kitchen. Loki was still moaning miserably in the bed. His face was even paler than usual with his cheeks and nose flushed a bright red, he was also sweating. Tony set the tea down on the bedside table and proceeded to pour two teaspoons of liquid medicine into a plastic measuring cup,

"Here. Sit up." He spoke softly, "Drink this and hopefully you'll feel better." Loki gingerly sat up and took the little plastic cup from Tony's hand. He drank down the bright orange liquid and started gagging,

"Oh Gods!" he stuck his tongue out and shivered involuntarily, "What in Hel…? That shit is AWFUL!" he gagged again. Tony laughed,

"Yeah it is." He said and handed Loki his tea.

"Thank you." Loki sounded absolutely pitiful. Tony took his place back in bed and started drinking his coffee,

"Guess we'll just stay in bed today." He smiled, "You should try to sleep more, it'll help." He gently wrapped an arm around Loki's shoulders and pulled him closer. Loki rested his head on Tony's shoulder,

"Aren't these viruses contagious? You shouldn't be around me or you'll get it too." He said. Tony just gave him a little squeeze,

"Don't worry about it. I'm here to take care of you, remember? And I get sick all the time, so I'm pretty used to it." He chuckled.

"That's because you're an alcoholic. You've weakened you immune system to almost nothing, I'm sure." Loki said with a hint of anger. Tony started opening and closing his hand in a mocking gesture,

"I'm sorry, all I heard was: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH alcohol." He laughed, Loki shook his head,

"Typical." In no long time at all, Loki had finished his tea and was breathing softly against Tony's shoulder, Tony glanced at him to make sure he was asleep then carefully pulled out an Xbox controller from the bedside drawer. A flat screen television descended from the ceiling in front of the bed and Tony began playing Mass Effect, for the next six hours, while Loki slept.

* * *

><p>OK. I'm really sorry this took so long. I've been over whelmed with the holiday's and work, and now I really am sick with a cold. That's why I added the last little bit. I thought it'd be funny to imagine Loki going through his first Earth illness. LOL. And I'm sorry if this chapter sucked...I'll do better soon! THX FOR READING!<p>

*The song Tony is quoting here is The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails.


	12. Chapter 12

Because YOU demanded it! More Steve and Thor! Enjoy.

And OMG! I'm so sorry this update took fucking FOREVER! My life kinda totally exploded in my face, but in a good way! I'm doing awesome at my job and all my bosses love me and I have tons of hours; and it's the first job I've ever had so I'm excited about it going so well. So yeah, I've been working 6 days a week and have been pretty tired, so I apologize again for the lateness. But I make up for it with SEX!

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><p>Thor began his day with renewed excitement. Although he felt bad that Loki was suffering with an Earth-borne illness, he knew Tony would take care of him. Today he planned on spending with Steven, in an effort to leave behind these traitorous feelings he harbored for Loki. He had no idea that Steve had had an interest in him, but upon this discovery began feeling very hopeful. Steve was a worthy warrior and an excellent friend, Thor had no doubts about Steve's loyalty or honor. Though Steve was a bit more innocent than Thor liked he was sure he could fix that problem easily. He chuckled to himself at that thought. He had dressed comfortably in blue jeans, a soft cotton sweater, and a leather coat, anything extra wouldn't be needed because it was relatively warm out this day. He turned to the full length mirror and made a face at himself. He had become more and more Midgardian in his appearance, he'd even argued with himself about cutting his hair off, and it was starting to bother him. He liked to fit in among the humans, but felt like he was losing his heritage in some way or causing Asgard dishonor. He knew that was a silly thing to think but it still bothered him. He sighed at himself and easily pulled his golden locks into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. He opened the bedroom door to step out into the hall but found Steven standing there with his fist in mid-air. Steve dropped his hand and cleared throat, blushing,<p>

"Uhm…good morning." He tried, smiling bashfully. Thor chuckled; Steven is such a tender and shy man, he thought to himself.

"And good morning to you." He responded, closing the bedroom door behind him.

"I…um…I wasn't actually sure if you were awake…and I didn't want to wake you…" Steve babbled nervously. Thor put a gently hand on Steve's shoulder and guided him to the stairs,

"It is fine." Thor assured. They began their decent down the stairs to the living room.

"So…" Steve cleared his throat again and regained his composure, "Was there something in particular that you wanted to do today? Or are we just going to wing it?" he asked. Thor looked at him in confusion,

"You cannot fly, Steven." He said this in a soft tone, like he was speaking to a child and didn't want to hurt its' feelings. Steve laughed out loud.

"No no no." He waved his hand dismissively, "It's a figure of speech. It has nothing to do with actually flying." He explained with another laugh. Thor made a face,

"I will never understand why you Midgardians must always speak in figures." He mumbled. Steve shrugged nonchalantly as they entered the living room. Clint was lying on the couch shooting spitballs unto the ceiling. Upon closer inspection Thor saw that Clint had spray painted a purple target on the ceiling above him. Also, Clint was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and, what probably was, women's underwear. Steve gasped.

"Oh my…Tony is gonna flip." He was shaking his head at Clint who just shrugged one shoulder in response. Thor looked at Steve in confusion again,

"What does Clint's target practice have to do with flipping?" He asked. Steve laughed in exasperation,

"No…it's just another figure…" He tried to explain but Thor started waving his hands as if shooing a fly,

"Never mind!" he said, "I get it. More figures." He walked to the front door and held it open for Steve. Steve stepped outside, still laughing. They walked a block in silence, just enjoying the day. Thor stared up at the sky almost the entire time, counting clouds and airplanes, until they came to the street corner and he rudely collided into a STOP sign. The metal pole vibrated back and forth from the impact while Thor glared at it, as if it had stepped in his way with the intent of offending him. Steve was laughing so hard he was almost on the ground. There was red mark on Thor's forehead and he started rubbing the spot tenderly.

"Aww…" Steve finally stopped laughing and came to look at Thor's injury, "You ok, big guy? You should really watch wear you're going." He lightly rubbed Thor's forehead. Thor snorted,

"Perhaps people should not place such hazards on a pedestrian walkway." He grumbled and crossed his arms.

"Oh I'm sure you're not the first person to walk into one." Steve chuckled some more. Thor was still huffing indignantly,

"One would never find such things upon the Bifrost!" He claimed. Steve rolled his eyes,

"Yes, but the Bifrost is not designed for mass public transportation." He then wrapped his arms around Thor's right bicep and started pulling him across the street. When they got to the next corner Thor suddenly snapped his fingers and turned to Steve excitedly.

"You cannot fly, but I can!" He exclaimed, "Would you like me to show you?" he asked.

"I've seen you fly before." Steve replied calmly. Thor chuckled this time,

"What I meant was to take you flying." He said. Steve looked nervous suddenly and he took a step away from Thor,

"Oh…I don't know about that…I like the ground, I'm safe here." He said. Thor frowned at the rejection, but remained optimistic,

"I would never allow harm to come to you, Steven." He promised. Steve still looked hesitant,

"I could fall…" he mumbled. Thor suddenly wrapped his arms around Steve's chest and pulled him in,

"Then I'll hold you tighter." He whispered. Steve's face went red and he looked away, but he placed his hands on Thor's shoulders and stepped unto Thor's shoes.

"Wait, don't you have to have your hammer?" he wondered. Thor just chuckled softly in response. Steve gasped when he felt a sudden weightlessness, and despite himself he looked down. He squeaked and crushed himself into Thor, gripping the soft shirt till his knuckles went white and squeezing his eyes shut. Thor raised them slowly enough to not cause Steve any serious trauma but he wanted to go high enough to see all of New York. When he finally stopped he took a deep breath and slightly loosened his grip on Steve so he could look at his face. Steve was burying his face in Thor's shoulder and mumbling to himself,

"…a terrible idea…" Thor heard him say. Thor chuckled and gently nudged Steve to get him to open his eyes. Steve slowly opened one eye and looked up at Thor. He straightened himself and the first thing he noticed was that he couldn't see any buildings, just clouds. He looked around further and thought with astonishment that those clouds looked close enough to touch. He then made the terrible mistake of looking down again. Beneath his feet were a few more drifting clouds, and under them…was the city. He couldn't even see cars upon the streets. They could have easily been the same height as a passenger airplane would be. Steve almost screamed as he gripped Thor again,

"Oh no! THOR! GO BACK!" he protested, and even started hyperventilating, "Put me DOWN! I WANT BACK ON THE GROUND! NOW! This is not fun….not fun…" He was crushing his eyes closed and Thor thought he might actually be crying. Steve knew it was a ridiculous fear to have, given all the more dangerous things he'd done in his life, but for some reason the prospect of free-falling to his death terrified him. Thor frowned,

"Steven…do you really have so little trust in me?" He asked softly. He physically felt Steve relax just a bit, and he started breathing normally again. He looked at Thor, and Thor felt really bad because Steve looked honestly terrified. But he wasn't going to give up. He slowly removed one hand from Steve's waist to point at the horizon,

"Look." He said sweetly, once again sounding like he was speaking to a small child, "Before you miss it." He smiled. Steve momentarily wondered if Thor's voice became like this by default whenever he was speaking to someone in emotional distress because of all the years Thor had spent with the emotionally wreak Loki. In a lot of ways Loki was like a broken baby bird and Thor was the giant, warm hands protecting him and nursing him back to health. Pushing those thoughts aside, Steve reluctantly gripped Thor's extended hand and turned around. Thor's other arm didn't loosen its hold on Steve's waist. Steve's eyes widened as he gazed at the sunrise that was still happening. From street level you could never see the sun through the buildings, but up where they were there was nothing blocking their view. He relaxed further into Thor's arms,

"Wow…" he said quietly, "Now if you could just erase all the buildings and put the ocean there, I'd be in heaven." He smiled. Thor chuckled,

"I could take you to the ocean." He said. Steve tensed involuntarily,

"No!" he said, gripping Thor's arms, "No…no, that's ok. This…this is pretty awesome." He smiled up at Thor, "Thank you." He said and Thor's face lit up with a big grin,

"You are very welcome." He replied. They watched the sun in silence until it had passed the horizon completely and was shining a full circle in the sky. Then Thor slowly descended them back into New York. Steve forced himself to keep his eyes open this time and as the ground became closer he spotted a Ferris wheel and bright lights in a corner of Central Park.

"OH!" he exclaimed suddenly, squeezing Thor's arm in excitement, "The Carnival!" Thor had no idea what a carnival was but at the sight of how excited it made Steve he definitely wanted to find out. They were close enough to the ground now that it didn't seem to bother Steve, so Thor accelerated them forward through the air and they came to land upon the sidewalk in front of a giant lit up archway. There was loud, cheery music playing and many children running around holding toys and cotton candy of various colors. Thor watched the Ferris wheel going around and saw a very tall clown entertaining children with balloons that he bent into animal shapes. He also saw a pirate, a roller coaster, and a small shop with shelves packed with candy. Steve was almost jumping up and down beside him,

"Oh my gosh." He was saying, "I love the Carnival!" Thor smiled at Steven's childish glee and only made him more excited,

"Then what are we waiting for!" he stepped past some people to head inside the Carnival grounds, but Steve caught his hand,

"Wait! We have to pay to get in." he said. Thor's eyebrows scrunched up,

"Pay for what? I have not done anything." He said. Steve laughed,

"No, pay with money." He explained. Thor's eyebrows went up in understanding and he began searching his pockets,

"Alas, I have no currency upon me." He grumbled. Steve giggled, he had always loved Thor's strange "Viking Talk", as Clint called it.

"It's ok, I think I got it." He stepped into the line of people waiting at the ticket booth and gestured for Thor to stand next to him.

"Why are we waiting here?" Thor asked. Steve gestured to the other people,

"We have to wait our turn." He said. Thor nodded and mouthed the word "Oh". Steve started bouncing again,

"Ooo! What am I going do first?" he asked himself, "I can't wait!"

"But you just said we _have_ to wait." Thor argued. Steve laughed loudly,

"You're just never going to understand figures of speech, are you?" he said and Thor shook his head. They finally got to the booth and paid the teenaged boy behind the plastic window. The young man held out two bright pink plastic bands and Steve extended his wrist so the boy could fasten the band. Thor mimicked Steve and placed his forearm upon the counter, the boy looked at Thor's fist then up at him. Thor just grinned at the boy who was obviously startled by Thor's mass.

"Um…" the boy started, "This isn't going to fit you…" he said holding out the pink band. Steve laughed,

"You don't have any bigger?" he asked. The boy shook his head,

"They're one-size fits all." He glanced at Thor again, "Or one-size fits most, in this case." Thor was trying in vain to reach the band around his wrist, but it was at least an inch and a half too small. "It's cool. Just keep it in your pocket, in case someone asks to see it." The boy said.

"Thanks." Steve said and he began pulling Thor along. Thor shoved the little pink band into his back pocket and followed Steve. The first thing they came to was the cotton candy stand, so they paused to get two orders then continued walking through the crowd.

"Sorcery!" Thor suddenly exclaimed and Steve turned to look at him in confusion, "This sugary pink cloud vanishes upon my tongue! How am supposed to eat it?" he was openly glaring at the pink cotton candy. Steve laughed,

"That _is_ how you eat it, silly. See?" He stuck his tongue out and placed a lump of bright green fluff upon it, the candy slowly melted and Thor watched in fascination, then Steve swallowed it. Thor nodded as if the secrets to the universe had just been revealed to him, then he copied Steve's behavior and stuck his tongue out to watch the pink cotton melt away. Thor looked just like a little kid who was trying to catch snow on their tongue. Steve chuckled at the sight. They entered the games area and Steve squealed excitedly when he saw giant stuffed animals. He ran over to one giant teddy bear and showed it to Thor,

"Look!" he said, "It's Thor sized!" he laughed, "Maybe I'll name him Teddyzilla. Or Thor Teddy. Or Teddy Thorzilla?" He laughed again. Thor suddenly reached up and ripped the over-sized stuffed bear from its hanger and handed it to Steve. The woman behind the counter started yelling at him.

"No, Thor!" Steve protested, "You have to win it! You can't just take it." He gave the bear back to the woman, "I'm so sorry. He's never been to a carnival before." He told the woman. Thor looked openly offended,

"I can win anything. Name your challenge, wench!" he shouted at the woman and pounded his fist upon the countertop, "And I shall claim your stuffed bear as my prize!" The red-haired woman popped her gum at him,

"Five bucks and you get three shots to knock down all the pins." She held out her hand. Thor made a "Pft!" sound at her, as if that was the most ridiculous task he'd ever heard. Steve handed the money to the woman and in turn she handed Thor three tennis balls. He gave the wooden bowling pins a serious gaze,

"I shall win you that bear, Steven. 'Tis a simple task, for I have watched many a games of baseball with young Peter." He explained. Steve giggled childishly,

"Good luck, big guy." He said and took a few steps back. Thor gripped one tennis ball in his right hand, then leaned back looking just like a baseball pitcher and threw the bright green ball into the stack of wooden pins. All the pins fell to the floor with hollow sounds and the woman handed the giant stuffed bear back to Thor.

"Hah!" Thor exclaimed, "A fool's challenge!" Steve was laughing again as he took the bear from Thor,

"These games aren't meant to be that difficult, silly. They're just for fun." He said.

"Verily. It is fun." Thor grinned. They went around, playing every game at least once, and soon enough they had a plastic garbage bag stuffed full of cotton animals.

"Oh here! You'll love this, Thor!" Steve said as they came to the next game, "See, you take that wooden hammer and hit the bottom button as hard as you can to try and get that…" he pointed at the moving metal piece as a man was attempting the game, "…to hit the bell at the top. If the bell rings, you win." He finished. Thor nodded,

"I accept this challenge." He said and stepped over to the man orchestrating the game. The man's eyes went wide at the sight of Thor,

"Woah, folks! We got us a regular Hulk Hogun over here! Ya wanna give it a shot, big fella?" he asked Thor, and Thor nodded.

"Indeed, I do." He said. The man handed Thor the wooden mallet and Thor made a face, "You call this a hammer?" he said. Steve started laughing from the sidelines,

"Let's not have a hammer debate, Thor. Just hit the thing!" he encouraged with a lively fist pump. Thor didn't even bother using both hands; with obvious ease he struck the giant red button. Not only did the little metal ringer fly into the bell, putting a dent in it, but the handle of the mallet also snapped in Thor's grip. Thor slightly blushed as he picked up the broken pieces of wood,

"Opps…" he looked at the man bashfully, "Forgive me, friend…it was not my intentions…" The man's eyes were slightly bulging and his mouth agape, "I forget how strong I am sometimes." Thor handed the broken hammer to the man.

"Wowzers…no kidding. That's a hella'ova swing ya got there, big fella." The man smiled and gave Thor his prize, "Maybe you should get a career in sports…like boxing, or arm wrestling!" the old man laughed cheerfully and Thor was glad that he wasn't angry at Thor for breaking the hammer. The man then reached under his counter and pulled out another identical wooden mallet. Steve and Thor continued on and Steve was looking at the giant bag of stuffed animals that Thor was carrying over his shoulder,

"Maybe we should be done with the prize games, huh?" he chuckled, "After all, we are gonna have to carry all this home." Thor nodded, and then blushed as his stomach made itself present. Steve laughed, "Yeah, I'm hungry too. Come on, I know the perfect traditional food." They made their way to a cluster of picnic tables on the grass and Thor placed their bag of plushies down to take a seat. "I'll be right back." Steve said holding up a finger and hurrying off to get their lunch. Thor absently watched people mill about; a little boy caught his eye and he sat up straighter to get a better look at the boy. He was pale child with dark hair and a beautiful face, standing by himself by an ice cream stand. The boy wasn't crying, nor did he look alarmed at being alone there. Thor glanced around for any sign of the child's parents. When he looked back at the boy he was staring at Thor in return. The hairs on Thor's neck and arms stood straight up as he gazed into two wide, green eyes and it was then that he realized why the child had caught Thor's attention to begin with. Startled by this, he suddenly jumped out of his chair, confusion rushed over him and he couldn't decide whether he should confront the boy or not. He didn't get a chance to make his choice as a slight, dark haired woman came rushing over to the boy, grabbing his small hand and hurrying off, yelling at him all the while. Thor stood there in a sort of confused shock. Though his reason told him it was merely a coincidence, he couldn't stop the crawling under his skin. He slumped back unto the picnic bench with a sigh. What would Loki be following him for, anyway? He shook his head and slightly slapped himself for his silly behavior. Steve suddenly slid unto the seat beside him, bringing him out of his reverie, and handing two hotdogs to him.

"I figured you'd want more than just one. And we can always get more if that's not enough." He explained with a giddy smile still plastered to his face. Thor smiled and nodded, then glanced at the food in his hand. He had had hotdogs before, given they were one of Steve's favorite foods and he ate them often, but Thor didn't personally care for them. He ate them anyways, if only to make Steve happy. And he was really hungry, after all. Neither of them had an interest in the roller coasters, so their next stop was the cliché Ferris wheel. The conductor held unto their bag of stuffed animals while they were on the ride. Steve was a little addled that Thor seemed bored upon the Ferris wheel but didn't let it sway him, and when the ride came to a soft halt at the top he bashfully scooted himself closer to Thor and took hold of the larger man's arm again. He rested his head atop Thor's vast shoulder and sighed.

"Ya know, I think this has been the best date I've ever been on." He said softly. Thor glanced down at him,

"Date?" he questioned. Steve nodded against his shoulder,

"Yeah, a romantic outing. A day spent with someone that you have a romantic interest in. They have that in Asgard, right?" he explained. Thor's deep chuckle slightly shook Steve's frame,

"Yes. We just have a different word for it." He said, and the wheel began moving again.

"What do you call it?" Steve wanted to know.

"A courtship." Thor said bluntly, "Though…men rarely court other men…" He added hesitantly. Steve frowned.

"Yeah…I know…" An awkward silence settled and then Thor felt bad for saying anything. He moved to wrap his arm around Steve and pull him in closer,

"So this is a date then?" he teased and Steve laughed gently and a blush came back to his cheeks. Thor was relieved to see him cheer up. Steve suddenly moved to face Thor and a sly grin twitched at his lips,

"I could ask you the same thing. Are you courting me, Mr. Odinson?" He licked his bottom lip nervously. Thor grinned and brought his hand up to stroke the back of Steve's neck,

"That depends…" he looked away playfully and glanced at Steve from the corner of his eye, "Do you like it?" Steve looked down, a full blush coloring his face now, and he tried to keep his cool composure despite his over-whelming urge to giggle like a little girl. He cleared his throat and looked back at Thor, who had turned to face him fully again.

"Of course." He answered enthusiastically. There was a mixture of playful joy and lust swirling in those bright blue eyes, and Steve vaguely noticed how they were the same color as the bright lightening that the God himself commanded. Steve felt Thor's large hand grip his thigh, and another familiar heat surged through him, he squirmed slightly under Thor's unwavering gaze. A rude halt of movement brought them back to reality and the Ferris wheel conductor handed them their bag of toys. They reluctantly got out of the car and Steve caught a few stray eyes starting at them, he instinctively threw his hand up to cover his face. Thor caught this immediately and he turned on the crowd,

"Unless you wish those eyes plucked from your skulls you will do well to avert them!" he shouted and all eyes were thus averted elsewhere. He smiled back Steve, who was trying to stifle a laugh,

"Where should we go next?" Thor asked.

"Actually…" Steve leaned into Thor and started pulling him toward the exit, "How about we just go home now?" He gave Thor a wink, but the look on Thor's face said that he hadn't caught the gesture.

"Are you certain? There is yet more fun to be had here." He said. Steve gave him another tug,

"There's plenty of fun to be had at home too." He said suggestively and it seemed that Thor finally caught what he was implying.

"Oh." Thor grinned with realization, "Indeed, there is." He agreed and suddenly leapt forward, sweeping Steve into his one free arm and flying them over the cars. Steve protested,

"It's not that far away!" he said.

"All the more reason to get there quicker!" Thor countered with a chuckled. The pair came into the living room to find Tony feeding Loki hot soup while intermittently rubbing his feet. Thor laughed at the sight,

"It appears that Tony has become Loki's bitch, as you mortals would say." Steve cracked up at the sound of such a phrase coming from Thor's mouth. Tony looked at the bag of stuffed animals that was spilling upon the carpet and gave the two a gawking glare,

"And where the fuck have YOU been all day?" He asked in an accusing tone. Neither of the blonds were phased a bit,

"The Carnival." Steve answered. Thor was kneeling beside Loki now, pressing a gently hand to the pale brow,

"How are you feeling?" He heard Thor asking in almost a whisper, and Loki gave a pitiful moan in reply. A tiny spark of jealousy entered Steve's chest, but he quickly stomp the rude intruder. He had no reason to be jealous, he knew that Loki took precedence over himself in Thor's heart and that was just the way it was.

"…can't believe you spent all day playing around…" Tony was muttering angrily. Thor placed a kiss upon Loki's head then returned to Steve with a grin,

"Shall we?" He nodded to the stairs. Steve looked a little surprised,

"You don't want to stay with Loki?" He asked. Thor glanced back at the couch.

"Tony is taking good care of him. He's alright." He turned back to Steve, "And besides, I am quite sure this date is not over." He spoke in a lower voice. Whether he did so to keep Tony and Loki from hearing, or just for the sparkling effect it had on Steve's skin Steve didn't know, nor did he care. With the bag of toys forgotten and abandoned, Thor took Steve's hand gently and led him upstairs. The closer they came to Thor's bedroom door the more anxiety gripped Steve's chest, and he found himself stopping in his tracks a few steps from the room. Thor turned around with an alarmed and worried look. Steve was licking his lips nervously again. Thor hadn't let go of his hand, and he turned now to stand in front of Steve,

"What is wrong?" he asked, placing his other hand upon Steve's cheek. Steve looked down at the floor then at the wall, like he didn't know where was safe to place his gaze.

"I just…I'm just nervous…I guess…" He settled for looking at Thor's blue eyes, they always seemed to calm him. He lowered his voice further, "I…um…I've never actually…" he started fiddling with the hem of Thor's shirt, "At least…not with a man…I mean…" Thor's chuckle silenced him,

"Steven, if you are truly uncomfortable with this, we do not have to do it. We do not have to do anything that you are not sure about." He said. Steve just looked at him for a minute, not sure what to say, but then he shook his head.

"No, no, I want to. I do. I just…you'll have to…teach me. Show me what to do, you know?" he explained. Thor nodded and gently guided Steve the rest of the way to his room. Thor was quick to remove his shirt, as if it had been branding him all day and he was finally being relieved of it. He softly, yet urgently, pushed Steve to the bed and tore hungrily at his clothes. Steve back-peddled, he hadn't expected Thor to be so forward and wanting, like a starved dog. Steve pushed at Thor's hands,

"Wait! Wait!" he cried and Thor froze with his hands upon Steve's now bare chest and his tongue lapping at Steve's throat. "Please, slow down. I…I'm overwhelmed!" Steve's voice hitched slightly and he tried to squirm out from underneath the mass that was Thor. Thor sat up on the bed and watched Steve for a minute. Steve's eyes couldn't stop drifting to the very obvious bulge in Thor's jeans, but despite the craving that shined through those blue eyes Thor was rather composed.

"Alright." He said suddenly, "Forgive me, I am not quite good at…slow." He said the word as if it were glue on his tongue, "How do you wish to start?" Steve looked completely thrown off by this question,

"Well…I…I don't know. Haven't you ever watched romance movies?" He wondered. Thor thought for a second,

"Hawkeye made me watch The Notebook with him once. He said it was a romance. And Tony watches those porns all the time…" he answered absently. Steve was shaking his head,

"Nonono, porn DOES NOT constitute a romance film. That's just gross." He sighed, "Gosh…I don't know why I thought you'd be a romantic…" he mumbled to himself. Thor frowned, he'd never been reprimanded for his love-making before and he felt bad that Steve was not enjoying this. He scooted closer to Steve and tried a different approach,

"Then, what is "a romantic"? Tell me what you want me to do." He gave a hopeful grin. Steve looked away bashfully,

"You know, soft, sweet, tender, passionate…not so fast and rough." He tried to explain. Thor gently wrapped his fingers around Steve's face and kissed him. Steve's breath caught in his throat and he was taken aback by the complete change of demeanor. Thor's lips were soft and caressing, tongue slightly more greedy and wanting, but it made Steve moan none the less. Thor pulled away to look Steve in the eyes,

"Like that?" he asked, like a dog awaiting his praise and reward. Steve melted, sighing heavily, eyes growing half-lidded. He nodded,

"Yeah…just like that." He breathed out, now far more aroused than he had been, and began tugging at the zipper of Thor's pants. Thor was probably just glad he was still getting laid, Steve thought, but at least it'll be more enjoyable for himself. Thor was able to take a pace that Steve could keep up with, but the eagerness in Thor's movements and touches still had nervous butterflies beating around in Steve's chest. He wasn't sure just how far he wanted to take this yet, and now was having second thoughts about leading Thor on this far. Thor was obviously practiced and he was neither hesitant nor shameful about anything, and that confidence only made Steve more uneasy and shy. But Thor wasn't stupid, he already knew how bashful Steve was, and he saw it even more so now that they were naked, lying next to each other. Thor understood the slighter man's want to take things slow, but if Thor didn't command things along at some rate they would be there all day. So he took the opportunity to pull Steve in beneath him, doing all he could to keep the other man comfortably distracted. Steve was gently rubbing himself against Thor's inner thigh and sucking at his neck. Thor worked one hand under Steve's thigh and slowly, yet deliberately, pulled it up to rest against his own hip. With a glance to make sure Steve's eyes were still closed, Thor began sucking on one of his own fingers while keeping his other hand comfortingly stroking Steve's thigh. Steve's other thigh was between Thor's legs, rhythmically rubbing up and down. After Thor thought he'd slicked his fingers enough, he moved more, pushing Steve's other leg aside with his own and adjusting his weight down to make Steve spread his legs. The tenseness of Steve's whole body made it obvious that he felt very uncomfortable in this position, but he complied. Thor made an effort to keep one hand stroking Steve's side and thigh, and place tender, encouraging kisses all over his neck and chest. He certainly didn't want Steven to be afraid of him; that would be counterproductive. He finally worked his hand between them and softly began rubbing one of his fingers, which he'd previously wetted, against Steve's opening. Steve's breathe hitched and his body went even more rigid at the sudden contact. Thor tried to shush him, tried to be soothing and encouraging.

"I will not hurt you, Steven." He assured with a husky whisper upon Steve's ear. Steve moaned in reply, and gently pushed his hips up against Thor. Thor took that as an invitation and he pushed his fingers in before Steve could change his mind.

"Aah!" Steve's voice broke into a high pitched moan of surprise and he panted against Thor's throat, but he didn't protest. Steve became more willing as the pleasure of Thor's touches took hold of him and he began to eagerly stroke Thor's cock with his hand. Thor's personality was very vocal, and that was ever present in their current situation, but Steve found his loud moans and growls comforting in a strange way. Thor finally got himself unto his knees and gripped each of Steve's thighs, both holding the man's legs apart and using them for leverage as he pushed himself into Steve. Steve was startled that it didn't hurt, considering Thor's girth, and he wondered if Thor had purposefully taken all that time to prepare him to avoid injury to Steve. Steve was beginning to understand Thor's subtle considerate behaviors and thought it was wonderful that Thor knew what he was doing and did it as gently as he could. Steve smiled beside himself. Thor took Steve's hands in his own and rested them above Steve's head, fingers laced together, then placed a tender kiss upon Steve's forehead before he started rocking back and forth into Steve. Steve was quick to finish, but Thor had expected that and he didn't want wear the smaller man down with too much friction afterward. So he pulled out and let Steve work him the rest of the way with his hands. Steve slumped into the bed when they were finished and curled up in the blankets, utterly satisfied and euphoric, a pink glow upon his cheeks. Thor beamed at the sight and crushed Steve into a warm hug where they fell asleep peacefully.


	13. Chapter 13

AND NOW, a serious chapter…and I confess I wrote a lot of this chapter listening to a song suggested by Tom Hiddleston himself; Archangel by Burial. Great song.

* * *

><p>As soon as Loki was feeling any better he immediately went back to work at S.H.E.I.L.D HQ. There had been a sudden escalation in criminal activities and Nick wanted Loki's personal opinion on the matter. Currently, the Avengers sat around Nick's conference table whilst Fury and Loki look upon a giant display map of the world. Several red blips blinked in small groups at various places upon earth. Each red dot indicated a place where a large scale villain attack had happened, all of the attacks had occurred consecutively. Now Fury decides what to do next:<p>

"Ignore them. Ignore them all." Loki said in his reputatious, cold-hearted tone. Nick and Coulson gave him skeptical gazes. "We are hunting Dr. Doom, are we not?" Loki continued, "Then this is definitively an elaborate distraction. These attacks have been spread out over the globe…" he waved his hand in an arc across the map, "Obviously in an attempt to split you all up, leave you vulnerable." He turned to face the table of heroes and crossed his arms over his chest. Steve was the first to speak,

"What if these have nothing to do with Doom? People are dying." He was all military, the man that earned him his title. Loki shook his head,

"Irrelevant. People die regardless…that's why they're mortals." He countered the Captain's vicious glare with his own then paused to grabbed a tissue and blow his nose, "You must think of Doom as the crime lord of the earth…even when it doesn't look like he's involved, you **must** assume his hands are in it somehow. Don't underestimate how powerful he is." He finished.

"So what now?" Nick asked. Loki placed his fingers upon his chin, drumming them there as he thought.

"Well, we must also assume that Doom has a backup plan. I'm sure he has thought of every possibility…including this scenario where none of you take the bait…and he'll most likely do something worse now. Something to really get your attention…" he trailed off as he pondered.

"Shouldn't we also assume that **you** have a hand in all this somehow?" Coulson spat out accusingly. Loki looked at Coulson like he was wearing a clown suit,

"I have no power, you imbecile!" he countered. Coulson pointed a finger in Loki's face,

"But you've got plenty of wit!" he snarled. The two glared at each other as if they could fire lightening from their eyes.

"Enough!" Fury said, "Coulson, you'd better learn to get along with Loki, cause I'm giving him a promotion. He now ranks the same as you." Loki's glare turned into a bragging grin. "I'm splitting you up, no supers on this mission, just espionage. We can't let these attacks go completely ignored." Loki and Coulson gave their full attention to Nick now. "Each of you will have a small squad and will be dropped off at different attack locations. Just snoop around and see what you can find, got it?" he ordered. The two nodded. Thor's fist came down on the table with a loud thud,

"I do not approve!" he shouted and everyone turned to look at him, he gestured to Loki, "My brother is not leaving my sight! He is far too vulnerable and he has already been mortally injured under your watch Fury!" All the while that Thor was shouting at Nick, Loki slithered his way around the agents and over to where Thor stood. He gently slipped his arms around Thor's shoulder, making Thor jump, and whispered into Thor's ear, rather seductively. No one heard what was whispered, but Thor was silenced instantly and he took his seat, glaring at the table.

"Fine." He mumbled, "So be it." Loki smiled victoriously and ran his fingers through Thor's hair once.

"Then let us proceed…as you were saying Fury?" Loki said. There was a pause as everyone took a moment to process the strange display between brothers, then Nick cleared his throat,

"…right, yes. Um…" He turned to the display map again, "Here." He marked two locations. "Coulson, you'll go Austria and the smaller surrounding countries that were attack. Loki will go to Africa…" He turned to see the two men nod, "Oh, and Loki…?" Nick glanced at Black Widow from the corner of his eye, then nodded in her direction, "Take Agent Romanoff with you. Just to…insure…your safety a bit more, and ease Thor's distress." He said. Loki chuckled,

"Very well." He gestured for Black Widow to follow him and she rose from the table silently. Nick Fury looked at his watch,

"You've got five minutes to be ready, so get your teams and whatever you'll need!" he barked. After Loki and Coulson had left the room, Steve leaned over to Thor,

"What did Loki say to you?" He whispered, looking very concerned. Thor regarded him for a moment, then smiled and placed a soft hand on Steve's shoulder,

"Nothing to worry about, my love." He assured, "My brother has just always been good at…calming me." He said, "And manipulating me…" he added as an angry after thought. Steve didn't look eased at all by this answer, but he let it go.

* * *

><p>Loki enjoyed the breath of fresh, foreign air when he stepped off the S.H.I.E.L.D helicopter unto African soil. It was a very small, isolated village, no more than a hundred villagers lived there and it had been reduced to rubble. As far as they knew no one had been killed, but all the buildings and farmland had been razed to the ground. Loki pondered this observation, but Natasha was the one to ask the question:<p>

"Why would they not kill anyone? Did they come just to destroy?" she asked him. Loki nodded slowly,

"It would appear that way…" He looked around at all the trembling villagers, "Like I said…" he whispered back, "…just a distraction." Natasha seemed to agree. Loki waved his hand, giving the signal for his men to fan out and have a look around. Natasha moved to follow them but Loki grabbed her wrist,

"You stay with me." He ordered and she just nodded. Loki stepped forward,

"_Who is in command of this village?"_ He asked in their native tongue. The fact that he even knew what language the people spoke, let alone that he could speak it as well, completely startled Black Widow. A very tall man, dressed in leopard fur and leather with a bone through his nose, stepped out of the crowd. He wielded a worn out hunters spear and the hand that gripped it was missing two fingers.

"_I am he_." He answered, "_What are you people doing here?_" he asked Loki. Loki smiled as warmly as he could muster, at least he thought he was smiling warmly,

"_We are here to investigate the attack upon your home. Can you tell me anything about who it was?"_ He remained a safe distance from the man, in case he accidently angers the natives. The man shook his head,

"_Now you wish to help us? After the villain has come and gone? NO! I shall not give you any information! BEGONE!" _The man shouted and slammed the hilt of his spear into the dirt. Loki took a more aggressive demeanor,

"_Actually…I could care less about this worthless village. I am not here to help you."_ He risked getting in the man's face, if only to get his point across, "_I am here for information. Nothing more, nor less. And you will tell me what I want or I shall take it by force. Perhaps you'd like to lose some more fingers?" _He finished by waving his hand in another gesture and instantly his agents turned their guns upon the villagers. Some women began crying. The leader snarled at Loki,

"_You would not be so dishonorable to kill helpless women and children..."_ The man said. Loki laughed heartlessly,

"_You would be wrong again. Honor has no meaning to the likes of me. Now tell me what I want to know. Who was this villain? What did he look like and where did he go?" _he demanded. The man sighed, defeated,

"_I do not know who __**they**__ were. But they came from the sky…they were machines…not men…and after everything was destroyed…they simply flew away." _He answered sorrowfully.

"_Do you know if they were looking for something? Or someone?" _Loki wondered. The man shook his head,

"_They did not take anything with them when they left…they just destroyed…"_

"_Very well…"_ Loki signaled for his men to put down their guns, "_Thank you for your assistance." _He turned back to Natasha who was giving him a disgusted look, Loki simply grinned wickedly, then placed his hand to his ear,

"Coulson? What have you found?" he asked over the comm link.

"Nothing very helpful. Apparently robots came down from the sky and destroyed everything, then simply left." Coulson answered in a very businesslike tone. Loki nodded,

"Yes. Same answers here." He said. Coulson sighed in exasperation,

"Then let's get back to base." He clicked out. Loki looked at his men and gestured to the chopper, they all jumped back into the vehicle.

"How did you know their language? And what did you say?" Black Widow asked. Loki shrugged nonchalantly,

"I know many languages, my dear. As for what was spoken…well, let's just say I got my answers." He winked at her. She snorted,

"By threatening to kill them?" she continued, not wanting to let Loki off the hook. Loki rolled his eyes,

"Oh please! Like I'm the first man to ever threaten a village for information! He wanted to refuse me, so I had to motivate him." He hopped into the helicopter with Widow behind him.

"It's still not right!" she shouted over the noise of the engine as they lifted off the ground. Loki ignored her.

* * *

><p>Hours later back at HQ…<p>

"Doombots, ya think?" Hawkeye asked, in reference to the new information.

"I'd say it's safe to assume." Loki answered. Coulson sighed,

"Don't you know where Doom is?" he barked at Loki, "Why don't you just tell us the location of his hideout and we'll ambush him? Or are you protecting him?" Loki ignored the insinuation,

"I know a few locations of a few of Doom's bases." He was buffing his nails upon his uniform, "But just like all egotistical, world dominating villains…Doom is very paranoid, constantly looking over his shoulder and never taking chances. He has hundreds of bases and he never stays at any one for long at all, and in his absence he has duplicates…artificial intelligences built to look and act exactly like him. So even if you came upon one of his bases, you'll never know if you're facing the real him or a robot." He finally looked up from his nails to look at the others, "And even I have no idea where the real him is." He shrugged, "You think he was dumb enough to trust me with information like that? Villains **never** trust each other." He chuckled.

"Wonderful…" Tony grumbled, "So we'll be fighting a butt-load of robots no matter what we do." Loki nodded at him.

"Alright…" Fury said. "Then now we wait, wait for his next move. We don't have enough information at the given time to be able to do anything. Avengers dismissed." He waved his hand and then turned around to face his computer display screen.

* * *

><p>Back at Avengers Mansion…<p>

"This whole situation is very fishy!" Tony said from his work spot on the carpet of his bedroom, he shouted to Loki, who was in the shower but had left the bathroom door open.

"I completely agree!" Loki called back, "But we don't have much to go on! We just have to wait, like Nick said!" The shower shut off and Loki stepped into the room with a towel around his waist, dripping wet. Tony looked up at him and stuck his tongue in his cheek while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Loki rolled his eyes. Tony sighed and went back to being serious,

"And what do we think he'll do next exactly?" he continued, Loki shrugged as he slipped into a pair of Tony's navy blue sweatpants,

"I'm not sure." He answered, "Anything's possible at this point." Tony made a face,

"I'm not so sure if I completely believe that you're not involved…I mean…you are kinda the God of Betrayal and Backstabbing and such…" he mumbled, but instantly regretted it. Loki turned on him,

"What…?" he whispered in astonishment, "What did you just…?" his mouth slacked open in heartbroken disbelief. Tony got off the floor and threw his hands up in defense,

"No! Wait wait! I didn't mean it like that! Let me explain…"

"NO!" Loki turned feral, "HOW DARE YOU, YOU SELFISH PIG! I'VE LOST **EVERYTHING**! And here I am! IN THE CARE OF THE LIKES OF **YOU**!" His voice broke as tears of fury began to sting his eyes, Tony tried to speak,

"Loki, PLEASE! You know my mouth engages before my brain!" he said, but Loki ignored it.

"I did something that I've never done before…" Loki continued, "I gave myself to you. A mortal man! I trusted you with my heart! AND THIS IS HOW YOU SMASH IT! YOU DON'T **BELIEVE** ME?" He sobbed, "How can you do this? **YOU SWORE TO BELIEVE ME!**" Loki turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Tony punched the wall in an outrage,

"GOD DAMN IT!" he shouted at himself, then slumped to the floor, "God damn it, Stark. What the fuck is wrong with you?" he dropped his head into his hands and only hoped that Loki would calm down and forgive his stupidity. Loki stormed into Thor's room to find Thor and Steve cuddling on the bed, both men looked up in surprise, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh…" Loki sniffed, wiping at his nose and eyes, "Forgive my intrusion…never mind…" he mumbled pitifully and left. Thor jumped off the bed,

"Wait! LOKI, WAIT!" he ran into the hall, "What happened!" he called out, but Loki was gone, as if he'd vanished into the air, like a ghost that hadn't really been there to begin with. Thor looked around, wide-eyed and confused. Steve came to his side,

"Where did he go? And was he crying?" he asked, searching the halls just like Thor. Thor sighed,

"Yes. And I think I know exactly who is to blame…" he looked at Tony's bedroom door. Steve grabbed his shoulder,

"Hold on now…let's not just go slamming through doors, hammer flying, ok? They fight all the time. I'm sure Tony just opened his stupid mouth at the wrong time. They'll be alright." He assured.

"I hope so…" Thor growled, clenching his fists, "For Stark's sake." Steve gently pushed Thor back into his room,

"C'mon, big guy. Don't worry about it." He placed a gently kiss upon Thor's cheek, "Let me calm you down." He whispered sweetly, and it was as if Thor completely forgot what he was angry about.

"Mmm." He moaned in anticipation, "That sounds promising…" he closed the bedroom door.

* * *

><p>Loki sat upon the edge of the roof, staring down at the concrete below. He made a face of disgust,<p>

"Ugh. How pathetic that I could just fall off this roof and be dead." He told himself; "Although...it doesn't sound like a bad idea…" he stood up and leaned over the edge a bit more, but then mentally slapped himself.

"No!" he turned away from the edge and walked a few steps, "Suicide is even more pathetic, disgusting…weak. I'll never be **that** weak." He assured himself. He sighed and slumped back down, bringing his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, then placing his chin upon his knees. He sighed again, exhausted and sorrowful.

"Stupid, stupid man." He whispered, "Stupid man, I hate you, I hate you Tony…" He tried to convince himself, but the words held no weight and he couldn't stop the warm tingle that bubbled in his chest at just the sound of Tony's name. Part of him wanted that warmth to never leave, wanted to cradle it forever, and the other part of him wanted to stab it out viciously and bury it while it was still beating…then tear it out of its grave and stomp it some more…and then maybe set it on fire and bury it again…or throw it into a chasm. Loki sighed again, knowing that he could never actually do any of those things, because as much as he hated to admit it, he was in love. And once love got into you, you couldn't kill it even if it was to save your life. He looked up at the sky, a few tears finding their way down his cheeks,

"Oh Anthony…you'll be the death of me…" he smiled despite himself and blinked away his tears, then rose to his feet. He made his way back into the house, down the stairs, through the living room, and out the front door. There was a sleek, black car waiting for him at the curb. He got into the back seat.

"Go." He told the driver, a S.H.I.E.L.D. employee, and the man nodded before accelerating them forward. Loki decided that as long as The Avengers refused to trust him, then he didn't need their help any longer. Fury needed Loki, whether he trusted him or not was regardless, it was all busy. Loki could live with that. So he would stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., at least until this all blew over. He told Nick Fury as little as possible, saying that he'd made this decision to be as close to HQ as possible, in order to optimize his helpfulness. Nick accepted the answer and gave Loki a bunker to himself. Loki retired to said bunker as soon as he was done talking to Nick. He climbed into the one-man sized bed, without even undressing, and fell asleep savoring the familiar cold, metal, and lonely darkness. Something he could always depend on to be the same.

* * *

><p>Like any other night that Loki wasn't there, Tony didn't sleep. But he refused to drink as well, he'd refused to drink anything at all since the last time. So he found himself in his workshop, protective goggles on, angry music blaring. Loki'll come back, Tony told himself, when he's calmed down…when he's good and ready…he'll come back. He'd been repeating this thought to himself for the past six hours, as he mindlessly melted metal together. But Loki didn't come back. Even when Pepper made her way into the workshop with Tony's morning coffee, Tony was still alone. He looked at Pepper in surprise and removed his goggles lethargically,<p>

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his voice was strained. She took in his appearance and her jaw dropped slightly. She put the coffee down and placed a hand upon Tony's brow,

"Tony! Have you been down here all night?" she asked, her voice sounded like a worried mother. Tony blinked once, very slowly, then his brow came together in confusion,

"All night? It's only been a couple hours…" he rubbed his eyes. Pepper looked at him like he'd grown a third eye,

"Tony…" she spoke softly, "It's nine in the morning. The same time I always bring you your coffee." She explained. Tony glanced at the coffee cup that Pepper had put down and realization hit him,

"Oh god…" he moaned, "He never came back…" his voice cracked just a fraction, "I've been here…waiting for him to come back…I kept telling myself that I'd wait just a little longer…just a little longer…" he rubbed his temples, "I waited all night…?" His voice broke again and he sat down upon the workbench chair. Pepper pulled the goggles off his head the rest of the way,

"You've been waiting? For who? Loki?" she asked. Tony nodded, then looked up at her in horror,

"Oh god…" he said again, "I did the most horrible thing to him…" he wiped his eyes.

"What? What happened?" Pepper wondered. Tony sniffled for a minute,

"I called him a liar…I broke his heart…after I'd promised to be the one to always trust him…I called him a liar." He smacked himself in the head, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Stark?" he yelled suddenly, making Pepper jump. She gently grabbed his shoulders,

"Ok. You need to sleep. I'm sure that if you were down here all night, Loki probably went to bed upstairs. If he was mad at you he probably didn't want to talk to you anyways…" she pulled him over to his makeshift bed on the floor, "Just go to sleep, and I'll find Loki and talk to him, ok? Does that sound good?" Tony dropped unto the bed,

"Yeah…you're…a lot better…with…words…" he began snoring. Pepper sighed a breath of relief, placing her hand on her brow. She left Tony's coffee there, he could always warm it up later, and made her way back upstairs. She went into the living room and addressed everyone sitting there,

"Has anybody seen Loki?" she asked. Faces turned to her, all wearing the same look of confusion, Peter and Clint shrugged in unison. Steve was shaking his head. Pepper sighed again and went up the stairs to the bedrooms. She knocked on Thor's door first, but the only answer she got was the large man's thunderous snoring. She went further down the hall to Tony's room and knocked upon it. There was silence. She opened the door slowly and poked her head in,

"Loki?" she called softly and stepped further inside. There was no one. She pulled out her phone as she headed back down the stairs. She dialed a familiar number and put the phone to her ear,

"Coulson? Yeah, hi, it's Pepper Potts. Oh! Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Hey, I'm looking for Loki, you wouldn't know where he…Oh? He is? Oh wonderful! I'll be there soon. I need to talk to him. Mhmm. Thanks." She clicked the phone off and hoped into one of Tony's cars. "To S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, please." She told the driver. When the elevator opened up on the top floor, she found Coulson, Nick Fury, and Loki all leaning over the conference table looking at something she couldn't see from this angle and debating amongst each other in low voices. She stepped over to them and cleared her throat, they looked up at her,

"Good morning." She said cheerfully, "Loki can I have a word with you?" she asked. Coulson and Fury glanced at Loki, but Loki didn't look at them. Instead he put on his best innocent face and smiled at Pepper,

"Of course, Lady Pepper." He said equally as cheerful and stepped away from the other men. Pepper led him over to a corner of the room then gave him a serious, yet concerned, gaze.

"What happened? Last night, with you and Tony?" she asked. Loki gave her a friendly smirk,

"I'm quite certain such things are not for the ears of a lady." He teased. She slapped his arm,

"You know what I'm talking about, don't play games. I found him in his workshop this morning. He was a zombie. He told me he'd been waiting for you to come back…" she lowered her voice more, "He waited all night! Without even knowing it." Loki's jesting face vanished to be replaced by worry. Pepper could tell he was trying to look apathetic, but the sorrow and concern shone in his eyes like a lighthouse.

"Now tell me what happened." She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Loki sighed, sounding as exhausted as Tony had looked,

"We…we just argued…" he said, looking down at the floor. Pepper wasn't buying it,

"Oh? So how come you never came back? He said he called you a liar, that he'd broken your heart…" she said. Loki rubbed his face with one hand,

"Yes…he called me a liar. He said…he thinks that I'm still working with Dr. Doom…" he confessed. Peppers eyebrows went up,

"Are you?" she asked. Loki looked at her in horror,

"NO! No, I am not! But no one seems to believe me!" he cried out. Pepper gave him a sympathetic look,

"You can't blame them for not trusting you, Loki." She said softly. He looked down at the floor again,

"I know." He whispered. She put a gently hand on Loki's shoulder,

"So what are you doing now? Are you going to go to Tony and accept his apology? You know he didn't mean to say that." She continued. Loki shook his head,

"Tell him, of course I've forgiven him. Tell him, I love him. But I'm staying here." He turned to walk away from her. She looked surprised,

"What? Why?" She followed him.

"Until this monster, Doom, is behind bars or dead…I'm staying here. I've caused The Avengers, and my brother, enough harm and problems…I'll earn their trust somehow…and I'll get my powers back…but Doom comes first. I'll end him…" he growled the last part through his teeth, clenching his fist and shaking with anger. Pepper was taken aback by this display of fury, but she was also happy to see Loki so determined to do something good. She smiled at him,

"Alright. I'll tell Tony what you said. I'll make sure he knows you still love him." She said. Loki's entire demeanor changed to that of a teenaged boy, and he beamed at her words,

"Thank you, Pepper." He smiled sweetly back at her, and she nodded to him before heading back into the elevator.

* * *

><p>Tony was not happy with Pepper's news. She'd told him after he'd woken up and had two cups of coffee, and now he sat in his shower, alone. He let the water run until it went stone cold, then he switched it off and continued to sit in the bathtub, brooding in his thoughts. He knew Loki believed he was doing the right thing, and it probably <strong>was<strong> the right thing, but it was still so God damned lonely…

* * *

><p>Nick Fury had enlisted the help of his favorite tracker. Wolverine. Loki knew Wolverine had unbelievable military and espionage experience, not to mention his time spent as an assassin, and he was a fairly easy guy to get along with so Loki looked forward to actually working with him. Nick and Logan were grumbling quietly to each other about something while Loki sat in Fury's favorite chair with his feet upon the desk. Coulson and some other agents stood stoically by the door, but every few minutes Coulson's suspicious eyes fell upon Loki.<p>

"How long have you had him working on this…?" Loki heard Logan asking.

"I haven't been making him do anything. It's by his own choice that he's stayed here to work on this." Nick responded. Loki caught Wolverine glancing at him for a second,

"He looks terrible…he's exhausted…" Logan said to Nick. Nick shrugged,

"He doesn't sleep…" he answered nonchalantly. Logan grunted, then stepped over to Loki.

"Alright. It seems you guys got a pretty good plan laid out here. But we're still waiting on another move from Doom, right?" he asked Loki.

"Well, it would be a good thing to avoid that, considering his next move might just be blowing us all up…" Loki answered, warily.

"Seems unlikely. I think you're over thinking this, buddy. You've been up for weeks…ya gotta take a break…and consider that maybe Doom doesn't know what his next move will be either." Loki gave him a look, like he was an idiot, but Logan just playfully slapped Loki's arm, "C'mon." he headed for the door. Loki looked completely uninterested and didn't even blink,

" "C'mon" where?" he asked dully. Logan crossed his arms,

"Me and Kurt are going out tonight, just to a bar, to relax. Everybody's gotta relax every now and then. Yer commin' too." He said and nodded in the direction of the door. Loki made a "pfft" sound at him,

"I think not." He mumbled, and then yawned. Logan huffed,

"Look, buddy, Wolverine don't take no fer an answer. So get up, or I carry you out." He said. Loki didn't respond nor make a move to comply. Logan shook his head then marched over to the desk and grabbed Loki by the waist, in one heave he threw Loki over his shoulder and held his legs down. Loki was hollering and kicking for Logan to put him down, but Logan ignored him. He saluted playfully to Nick,

"See ya later!" he called as he headed out the door, a very flustered Loki grumbling over his shoulder. Logan tossed Loki into the back of his car when they got to the street. Loki gave him a death glare. Logan laughed,

"Aww get over it. Ya don't weigh much now that you're human. And this is fer your own good." He got into the driver's seat, "You'll thank me." Logan called Kurt on his cell when they got close to the X-mansion, so that when they pulled up to the grand gates, Nightcrawler was waiting for them. Kurt hopped into the passenger seat and looked at Loki in surprise,

"Oh hello Loki!" he said with a smile, "I hadn't been told you were joining us this evening." He said looking at Logan. Logan shrugged,

" 'S not like you wore something skanky." He replied. Kurt laughed,

"Logan, I don't ever where anything skanky."

"Exactly." Logan chuckled and drove them out of view of the mansion, back to the city. Kurt moved into the back of the car to sit next to Loki. He gave Loki a warm, inviting smile,

"How are you doing? Must be hard trying to adjust to a mortal life." He wondered. Loki shrugged one shoulder,

" 'Tis just like any other routine, once you get the hang of it, it's not difficult." He yawned. Kurt was nodding,

"I guess so. Still, it's always hard to be taken out of the familiar and thrown into something you know close to nothing about. It can wear you down." A strange shadow came to Kurt's expression but he quickly snapped out of it and smiled at Loki, "I hope you'll have fun with us tonight!" he exclaimed. Loki gave him a look, then glanced at Wolverine,

"Yes…but not TOO MUCH fun, hmm?" he said carefully. Kurt laughed nervously and Logan chuckled,

"Oh trust me, Kurt would never…" Logan said through another chuckle, "He's too innocent. You don't know how long it took before he'd let ME touch him, let only anybody else." Kurt covered his face in embarrassment,

"Logan…" he whined, "Be quiet…" Logan parked the car in front of a hole-in-the-wall bar and hopped out to open the door for the boys. They both got out and that was when Logan noticed Loki was still in his S.H.I.E.L.D uniform, Logan frowned,

"Hold on…you can't go in like that…" he opened the trunk of his car and started digging through some stuff. He pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a cropped Beck's German Imported Beer t-shirt. Loki looked at Logan as if his face had just melted off,

"Are you mad!" he shrieked, "My entire midriff would be seen in that sad excuse of a shirt!" his cheeks went red at the thought. Logan laughed,

"Well it was a whole shirt once…till…see what happened was…me and Kurt were at this other bar and…I got pretty drunk…and his shirt was in the way…" he stopped when he saw the disgusted horror on Loki's face,

"You want me to wear clothes that you had SEX with your boyfriend in!" he was appalled. Kurt face palmed.

"Well to be fair…he wasn't actually IN the clothes when we started…"

"SHUT UP!" Loki threw his hand up, "Please, stop talking!" he said and snatched the clothes from Logan. He crawled back into the backseat of the car to change his clothes. He sighed at the shredded shirt. Logan chuckled,

"Sorry…but trust me, we really don't want the kind of attention that your uniform would get us." He explained and headed for the bar's front door. Loki agreed with him on that. They took seats at the bar and Loki could feel curious eyes upon him, he self-consciously wrapped his arms around his exposed midriff and stared at the bar countertop. A glass of dark red wine was placed in front of him and he looked at Logan in surprised, Logan shrugged,

"You seem more like a wine kinda guy." He said. Loki smiled and relaxed a bit,

"Indeed, I am. Thank you." He gingerly sipped the wine, just to taste it first, "Mmm." He licked his lips, pleased with the drink, then downed half of it in one swallow. Kurt and Logan wore equal expressions of concern, but neither said anything. Kurt and Logan got lost in their own conversation for a while, which Loki was glad for, he wasn't one to "talk about his feelings". He stared into his wine as Tony's beautiful brown eyes smiled at him in his mind. He smiled to himself unknowingly and took another drink. A woman suddenly slid unto the bar stool beside Loki and leaned over to look into his face,

"Hey there…" she said softly. Loki was startled from his reverie and looked at her with wide eyes. She smiled, bright red lips, brunette hair, and a teasing cleavage.

"You're looking awfully alone and heartbroken over here." Her voice was sweet and sympathetic, "And I hate seeing such a beautiful man so sad." Loki couldn't help the blush that came to his cheeks,

"Beauti…" he blinked a few times as his brain processed this. Tony had really been the only person to call him that. He regained his composure and smiled, chuckling embarrassedly,

"Well, thank you. But I'll be alright." He told the girl. She nodded and took a sip of her martini,

"Maybe you just need a stranger to talk to?" she offered. Loki couldn't understand why this woman would care…except that she was interested in sex…but he wouldn't go there.

"That's quite alright. I'm sure you don't really want to be bothered listening to my problems." He mumbled into his wine as he took another drink. Logan leaned over,

"Hey." He pointed at the woman, "Buzz off, slut." He barked. The woman looked horrified, Loki threw up his hand,

"No no! She's fine, Logan. It's alright." He assured and Logan backed off with a snort. The woman gave Loki a very flustered look. Loki laughed,

"Sorry…he's just…very protective…" he explained and she nodded.

"But, what's he protecting you from?" She wondered. He turned his big, emerald eyes to her, looked her up and down once, then said,

"The possibility that I'll do something I'll really regret, I assume." He raised an eyebrow at her, not once wavering his gaze from her brown eyes. She flushed, blinked and looked away,

"Oh…" she said, "A taken man, then?" she guessed, not looking back at him. He nodded,

"Yes. Sorry if that ruins your plans for the evening." He finished off his wine and waved for another. The woman laughed,

"Maybe a little. But that's ok." A comfortable silence fell as Loki started on his second glass. He dared a glance at Logan and Kurt, they were talking quietly, Logan's hand stroking Kurt's thigh under the counter. Loki smiled at that. He sighed into his drink again, wishing Tony was here.

"We got into a fight…" he suddenly mumbled and the woman turned her gaze to him again, "He called me a liar…" Loki whispered and took another drink. He saw her jaw drop just a bit as she came to understand Loki's sexual orientation, but she didn't say anything. "I haven't seen or spoke to him in weeks…I don't know if it's that or the sheer exhaustion that's killing me…" he continued, "Probably both." He decided.

"Do you still love him?" she asked. Loki's heart tugged just a bit.

"Of course…I…I just…" he searched for the words, "I can't _bare_ to disappoint him…" he covered his eyes with his hand, but the tears found their way, silently dripping off his chin unto the countertop. Loki was startled by the sudden warmth of two slighter arms wrapping around his chest. He looked at this woman in astonishment as she hugged him. He smiled softly and hugged her back, letting her hold and comfort him. She stroked his hair and he actually cried on her shoulder. He knew it had to be the alcohol getting hold of him, because he'd never normally cry in public, especially in front of this total stranger. Despite the oddness of the entire situation, he was greatly comforted by this woman. Maybe it was just because she was so openly willing and comforting, and no one had ever been like that with Loki. She was a good woman, he decided, a good person, to want to help a stranger so much. He calmed down and they started talking about their boyfriends, well her ex, and all the stupid things that men do. Loki laughed and enjoyed more drinks with her.

"I'm sorry…" he said through another laugh, "But I never got your name." She forced herself to stop laughing in order to answer him,

"Oh, sorry, my bad." She put her hand out to him, "Jane Foster." She said. He shook her hand,

"Loki." He answered. They both froze and looked at each other in complete shock, "Wait…" Loki started, "Did you just say…?"

"Loki!" She snatched her hand away from him as if it'd been burnt by his touch. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Loki scratched the back of his neck and looked away,

"Well this is awkward…" he mumbled.

"Yeah…whoa…what a creepy coincidence…" she agreed, "EW! And I was hitting on you!" she stuck out her tongue and waved her hands around like she'd touched something slimy. Loki glared at her,

"Perhaps you shouldn't be such a slut!" he said, she returned the glare,

"It's a bar! It's where you go to get laid when you're lonely and don't care anymore!" she countered. Loki waved his hand dismissively,

"Whatever. I'm too drunk to care." He sighed. Jane twiddled the edge of her glass,

"So…how is Thor anyways…? Or are you guys still fighting a lot? Wait…what are you doing getting drunk in a bar anyways?" she gasped suddenly and threw her hand over her mouth, "And WHO'S YOUR BOYFRIEND? Oh my gosh!" she stated as she put two and two together. Loki rolled his eyes,

"Thor's fine. He was in love with me, but now his with Steven. No we aren't fighting. I got turned mortal by my own magic. The Avengers are trying to help me. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. And Tony Stark. Did I answer all of them?" he rattled off. Jane blinked a few times,

"He was in love…WHAT! Tony Stark? Whoa whoa whoa! Back up!" she made a "backing up" gesture with her hands. Loki sighed and dropped his head unto the table,

"I really don't feel like it…" he whispered, closing his eyes and enjoying the cold countertop against his face. Jane watched him for a minute, then placed her cheek upon the counter, facing him,

"Ok." She said, "You don't have to explain anything." She smiled at him. He chuckled,

"Thanks." He slurred, those five glasses of wine really kicking in. He didn't even realize that he'd fallen asleep until he was being shaken by Wolverine. He snorted as he suddenly sat up, regretting it instantly as the dizziness of inebriation over took him,

"Uuuhh." He moaned and rubbed his head. Jane was gone. Logan grabbed him, throwing his arm over Logan's shoulders and pulling him to his feet,

"C'mon, skinny. We'll take ya home." He told Loki. Loki could barely keep his eyes open and his feet kept tripping over one another, but Logan kept a good hold on him.

"Not...Tony's…house…" he mumbled pitifully. Logan paused for a minute then sighed,

"Alright, I'll take ya back to S.H.I.E.L.D." he assured, then pushed Loki into the backseat of the car. Logan let Nick and some other agents drag Loki to his bed when he got to the HQ, then he hopped back in the car and went home to his own superhero filled mansion.


	14. Chapter 14

This fight scene(that you're about to read) was actually the very FIRST chapter I wrote. I was just listening to Flyleaf when I was hit with crazy inspiration and I typed up the whole thing and then was like, "Woah, I gotta write a whole story to go with this ficlet!" So then I spent a lot of time trying to figure how I was gonna make this into a story. It was completely inspired by two songs from Flyleaf. The first being "Circle" the second being "Arise", and I STRONGLY suggest you listen to them either before or during reading this, cus they seriously set the mood of what I was trying to personify. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"<em>No man, shows greater love, than when a man, lays down his life, FOR HIS BELOVED!<em>

_I left, his arms empty and tied, outstretched for me until he died! _

_Left his arms empty and tied, outstretched for me until he died!..._

_I BELIEVE! What if I believe you, NOW? Could it ever change this? _

_OOH! Forgive me, relieve me, please come back to life!" - Circle_

* * *

><p>"<em>Hold on, to the world we all remember fighting for, there's some strength left in us yet.<em>

_Hold on, to the world we all remember dying for, there's some hope left in it yet…_

_ARISE, and be, all that you dreamed, all that you dreamed." - Arise_

* * *

><p>Loki slammed down two Advil and an entire pot of coffee for breakfast before getting back to work. His cellphone told him that Tony had tried calling him several times, but he sorrowfully shoved the phone into the dark of his pocket and left it there. Before he'd even stepped into Nick Fury's conference hall a red alarm sounded throughout HQ. He groaned, so not ready for a red alert. Agents started scrambling like cockroaches. Loki hurried, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, to Fury's side as the dark skinned man stood shouting orders.<p>

"What is it?" Loki asked, not sounding at all like he cared. Nick gave him a look,

"Doom's next move, which you've been so eagerly awaiting." Nick answered through gritted teeth. This got Loki's attention and he turned his wide eyes to face Nick,

"What? What is he doing? Where is he!" He snapped angrily. Nick grabbed his shoulder,

"Whoa there, Moriarty! You aren't going anywhere, you can't fight. I've already phoned The Avengers, they're en route to Doom's position." He said. Loki wrenched his entire body away from Fury,

"Not good enough!" He screamed, "I'm not sitting here to wait!" his face was red with fury and Nick could see him begin to shake. Nick put his hands out to calm Loki,

"Alright…we'll hop in a chopper and go down there, ok?" he offered. Loki breathed for a minute, then nodded,

"Ok." He said once he'd calmed down. Nick Fury started for the elevator with Loki hot on his heels. Nick touched his hand to his ear,

"I want my squad on the roof A.S.A.P!" he said and the elevator doors closed. They emerged into the early morning air, the sun still hiding behind the horizon, a chopper waiting to go, and Fury's elite agents already seated in it. They jumped in and were off. Nick was shouting to Iron Man through the headset, but Loki couldn't hear what exactly was being said, he only hoped Tony was ok. They arrived to see Doom himself destroying half of downtown Manhattan, Thor and the Hulk were on the ground taking him head on. Captain America, Spider-Man and Hawkeye were taking out as many Doombots as they could. Then Iron Man went soaring past the chopper and flew right into Doom, bombarding him with pulse cannon fire. Loki's heart leaped out of his chest at the same time he leaped out of his seat, but when Tony emerged unharmed and still in the air he breathed a sigh of relief,

"Oh Anthony…" he whispered to himself, "You'll be the death of me." He shook his head as the chopper dropped low enough to the ground for them to jump out. Upon the ground Nick Fury turned to Loki and held out a hand gun, Loki gave him a look,

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not using that barbaric device!" he said. Nick shoved the gun into Loki's hands,

"You've got nothing else, pretty boy! Don't be stupid!" was all he shouted before he turned to help the Cap take out a robot. Loki looked at the gun and realized he had no idea how to use it. Loki looked around; it was an outright battlefield. Buildings leveled, people running and screaming, fissures and craters littered the concrete, cars aflame, all with Doom in the center of it. He watched his brother fly at Doom, Mjölnir swinging, only to be blasted into a building above Loki's head. Thor crashed into the ground and didn't move. Loki's eyes went wide as he came to find that he stood here, petrified, in a battle were he could do nothing to help. He gripped the gun in his hand and a determination crossed his features. He pointed the gun at the nearest Doombot and pulled trigger. Three successive shots tore through the robots' ugly face and it crumpled to the ground, the nearby agents all turned astonished gazes upon Loki. Loki moved forward, firing his way through metal limbs, headed straight for Victor Von Doom. He had no idea what he would do when he got face to face with that man, but he'd be damned if he didn't do **something**. Doom saw him advancing, and laughed, Loki glared daggers in return. Doom grabbed one of his fallen robots and threw it at Loki. Loki stopped in his tracks, but didn't react fast enough. The metal body hit him with terrible force and sent him toppling to the asphalt. Iron Man seemed to appear from nowhere and landed in front of Doom. Tony raised an arm to Doom, pulse blaster charged to fire, the determination to kill shining in his eyes. His helmet had been lost already, smashed by one of the Doombots earlier in the fray. But before he could blast Doom in the face, Victor threw out his hand and a crackle of energy shot past Tony's ear. Tony looked to his left, to see what damage had been done, and he watched in rapt horror as his own left arm fell from his shoulder and landed on the ground with a metallic sound. Blood burst from the wound violently and Tony felt his body seize, beginning to go into shock. He looked back at Doom as Doom was pointing his fingers at Tony's chest. Loki was on his feet in a heartbeat, running faster than he'd ever gone in his life.

"NOOOO!" Loki's voice was like glass, as it shattered, desperate and hopeless. There was a second flash of light and then there was silence. Tony blinked rapidly a few times but all he saw was the shocked expression on Doom's face as he was looking at the ground. Tony's heart fell to his feet, but he swallowed and forced himself to look at the ground. Crumpled at his feet, was Loki, a hideous hole torn through him, lying in a puddle of his own blood. An anguished cry escaped Tony's throat as he dropped to his knees and cradled Loki's angel-face in his one remaining hand, he forced himself to pull Loki into his chest and held him there. Tony suddenly recalled the fight he'd had with Loki weeks ago, and the heartbroken ache that he saw in Loki's eyes when Tony had told him that he didn't believe him. Tony could no longer control the choking sobs that shook his body,

"Noo…" He whispered and kissed Loki's face, "I'm sooo sorry…Loki, forgive me." He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness from blood lose, and only cried louder, voice growing shrill, "Forgive me! **I BELIEVE YOU!** LOKI, I BELIEVE YOU!" He smiled at Loki's still face, tenderly stroking the pale skin, "See? I promise…I believe you." He began crying again. "No no no…please…I'm so sorry…" A puff of smoke and brimstone stung Tony's nose as the sun broke the horizon and momentarily blinded him. Then, standing before him was a beautiful woman, dressed in white and silver armor with silver horns adorning her golden hair, magic igniting her hands. Tony closed his eyes as he was engulfed in a pure, white light, and all his pain faded away, when he opened them again Loki was gasping against his chest. He looked down in relived astonishment, and two beautiful emerald orbs were looking back at him, then they both turned to the woman. She was extending a hand to Loki,

"Arise." She commanded. Loki took her hand and she pulled him to his feet. Her fingers were glowing white as she drew a strange sigil unto Loki's forehead, the symbol burned white hot then faded to golden glitter before vanishing completely. Loki gasped, like he'd just emerged from deep water and was taking his first breath, as he felt the binding spell shatter and his power returned all at once. A flurry of wind began around him as his armor appeared from nowhere and assembled itself upon him. His hair turned into its natural raven black and cascaded atop his shoulders in thin, straight ribbons, his eyes returned to their iridescent green, and a soft white glow came from under his skin. He put his arms out as his armor placed itself, helmet going last, regal green cape billowing around his ankles. He ran a hand over one of the grand curves atop his head and a smile broke his face from ear to ear. He threw his head back and laughed, full of joy and excitement, full of life. He'd never been so grateful to have his power than in that second. Without hesitation he threw himself around this woman before him, as if she was the last thing keeping him alive, and in a way she was. She hugged him sweetly, and then he held her out at arm's length,

"Thank you!" He exclaimed, "GODS, for the rest of eternity, THANK YOU!" He hugged her again and she laughed,

"You are more than welcome, my Prince." She gave him a wink and he was a little surprised to hear her call him that, but he accepted it. Loki smiled at Tony, sweet and soft, as if to say everything would be ok now. Then he whirled around to face Doom. Doom actually flinched. The fury rolling off of Loki literally became tangible in the form of a thick, black shadow that seemed to come from beneath Loki's feet and cape, the sky darkened with grey clouds and it began to snow. The ground under Loki's feet froze solid and shattered into lightening like fissures as he stepped toward Victor. His eyes turned blood red, characteristic of his Jotun heritage, and his fangs shined as he growled viciously,

"_I. am. going. to. KILL. YOU._" The snarl was barely a whisper, but the gravity behind it sent Doom stumbling backward in an attempt to get away from Loki. Victor put up his hands as if to stop Loki from advancing,

"Now now Loki." His voice betrayed his retreating demeanor, "I'm sure we can come to a deal here. We can help each other. You can benefit much from it_. I know how you are…_" there was venom in his voice. Loki screamed in rage and a sharp crackle perforated the air as green fire came from Loki's hand, sending Doom flying into the car behind him.

"**SHUT UP!**" Loki roared, "You DO NOT know me, mortal! And you NEVER will, for I am a changed man." He pointed a thin, icy blue finger at Doom, "You have harmed my lover and _for that_ I will show **NO MERCY!**" Before Victor could even open his eyes Loki was inches from his face. Doom was absolutely positive that he'd never seen _this_ madness in Loki's eyes, it made him shiver. Loki smiled, and it was a disgusting smile, like a lion playing with its' food before devouring it, or a child ripping the legs and wings off of a pinned butterfly, one by one.

"Do you realize how _vulnerable_ you are under that metal shell?" Loki cooed, "You still have blood in your veins, and _water_ in that blood…" he paused to look Victor up and down, like he was sizing him up, "Do you know what a frost giant like me can do to water?" Loki paused to boar his hatred into Doom with his eyes. But Doom did something unexpected, or at least, _slightly_ unexpected. He laughed.

"I sure I would be quite vulnerable to your frostbitten touch, Laufeyson, if…" He chuckled again, "If I were anywhere near you at the given time." Loki's brow contorted between confusion and rage and he took a step backward. Doom laughed again, "OH, please! You don't really believe I'd expose myself this early in the game, do you?" He started cackling loudly, throwing his head back. Loki growled. He lifted a frozen, clawed hand and shoved it through Doom's chest. Sure enough, he pulled out a robotic core. The robotic look-alike convulsed and collapsed at Loki's feet.

"Dammit!" Loki snarled to himself and kicked the robot once for good measure. He turned around, gathered his composure, and then walked back toward the others. Tony's arm was healed, like it had never been touched. Loki embraced him without a pause, and Tony flinched in surprise but squeezed Loki as hard as he could. Loki pulled back just a bit before crushing his lips to Tony's, and tears were running down Tony's bloodied face. Tony gasped when they finally broke apart and he slumped into the taller man's arms, grasping him and sobbing,

"I'm so sorry! I should have believed you. I promise I'll believe you forever. Please forgive me..." Loki's face was soft and understanding, he placed a gentle hand at the back of Tony's head and pulled him close again,

"Shush." He whispered soothingly, "I already forgave you." Tony smiled,

"I love you." He whispered in return. Loki's face lit up with joy,

"I know." He teased, "And I love you as well." Steve suddenly cleared his throat uncomfortably. Tony and Loki turned to him and he was pointing at Doom,

"Soo…it was a fake?" he inquired. Loki nodded once,

"Indeed, quite infuriatingly so." He answered. Steve shook his head in frustration, then gestured to the rubble around them,

"All this…" he whispered, "…for nothing." He threw his arms up, defeated. Loki moved past them all to where Thor was now getting up off the ground. The sorceress was weaving a healing spell around Thor.

"Thank you, my lady!" Thor exclaimed, "But…who are you? Where did you come from?" Thor looked at Loki and the blond man's face split into a grin, he threw his arms out, "LOKI!" he hugged Loki fiercely, "You are yourself again!" Loki patted Thor's shoulder,

"Yes I am. And I could never be happier." They broke their embrace to face this woman, "And I had similar questions for you, dear lady." Loki said to her. She smiled. Nightcrawler appeared from the thin air and stood beside her,

"My friends!" He exclaimed, "Forgive me that it took so damned long to find her, but this is Amanda Szardos, also sometimes known as Daydripper, or simply Magick." He introduced the warrior woman and she bowed slightly to them. They bowed in return.

"I'm glad I showed up at the time I did. Or I might have been too late to save you." Amanda said to Loki. Loki nodded,

"I am forever in your debt, Lady Amanda." Loki smiled, "As is my dear Anthony, I'd presume." He chuckled as Tony came to stand beside him. Nick Fury let out a long sigh,

"Well…" he took a look around them, "Time to get cleaning." He grumbled. S.H.I.E.L.D men were already picking up the pieces of the Doom look-alike.

"Indeed." Thor nodded, "But it should be much easier now that my Brother has his powers back. I am sure he could fix this all quiet quickly, right Loki?" he asked Loki. Loki nodded,

"Let me see what I can do…" he stepped out into the middle of the disaster. Everyone took a few steps away from him. He put his arms out and a whirlwind of electric green fire swirled around his figure. Everyone watched the asphalt as it mended itself, till it was flat and solid again. Crumpled buildings pulled themselves off the ground and reassembled. Cars were returned to their proper positions, repaired like brand new. Injured bystanders were healed by shimmering green light. And the fallen bodies of Doom's robots vanished from existence. Before they knew it, the entire war zone looked like it had never been touched. Loki lightly landed back down upon the street and turned to face the heroes. Everyone except Thor, who was grinning like usual, and Nick Fury, who never showed emotion, had their jaws agape. Loki laughed,

"One does not become the Universe's most powerful sorcerer without being able to fix a few ruined cities." He smirked boastfully and put his hands on his hips.

"Nice!" Hawkeye commented. Loki nodded appreciatively. A sudden sound assaulted Loki's ears, a sound that he'd never heard directed at him before. He had no idea what this growing noise was until he saw his friends, all the Avengers, and even Nick Fury, clapping their hands. His eyes grew wide as he turned around to see hundreds of civilians…applauding. His head whipped back around to his friends, complete confusion all over his face. Thor put a hand on Loki's shoulder,

"You ended the terror of yet another of Doom's tricks, saved all these people's lives…" he waved a hand toward the crowd, "…saved the life of another hero…" he looked at Tony, "…and completely repaired all the chaos and damage that happened here. Who else could they be applauding for, dear Brother?" he smiled, a profound proudness shining through. Loki still looked stricken and confused,

"I…me…?" he mumbled, looking at the crowd again.

"WOO!" Hawkeye cheered, slapping Loki's shoulder playfully, "So how's it feel to be a real hero, huh!" He asked with a big grin. Even Steve and Natasha were smiling at Loki.

"…a…hero…?" Loki looked at Thor, wide innocent eyes unsure, as if asking for his Big Brother's approval of this proclamation. Thor nodded, a loving smile still on his face. Loki's breath hitched and he started crying, as if he had no control over it what-so-ever.

"Aww man…" Hawkeye stopped cheering, "Why does he always cry…?" he asked with honest concern. Thor chuckled,

"I believe these are tears of joy, my archer friend." He said as he gently held Loki in an embrace. Loki pulled off his helmet and wiped his face, sniffling for a minute before he smiled at them,

"Yes. More joy than my heart can handle right now." His voice cracked and the others laughed.

"It's ok, Loki." Spider-Man said, "Only the manliest men cry after defeating their enemies." They laughed again. A shadow came back to Loki's features,

"But…" he shook his head, "…it wasn't him…I didn't kill him." Tony stepped up to him, gripping his shoulders and regarding him with wary concern,

"Loki…has it even dawned on you…that you just…" he swallowed, "…died. You had no power, nothing protecting you, but you fought like you were invincible. And you died…you saved me." He said the last part in a voice full of warm love and pride. Loki seemed to zone out for a minute, as if this was new information that he was now coming to full terms with. He focused on Tony again,

"I did, didn't I." it wasn't a question, more of a realization, an acceptance. He smiled suddenly, "Well, who would have thought…a strange day it has been indeed." Tony laughed,

"Strange day? Where've you been? It's been a strange YEAR." He said, "Should I recap for those of us that are just tuning in?" Loki laughed out loud, and Tony thought it was incredible to see and hear such honest joy from Loki again. Tony sighed contently. "Look, babe, what I'm saying…" he continued and Loki listened intently, "…is that you've done a great thing today, and you got your power back." He gave Loki's shoulders another squeeze, "You _will_ have another chance at Doom, don't worry about it." Loki nodded in agreement.

"That's considering you don't go AWOL on us now." Nick Fury cut in. Tony gave him a glare that could cut diamonds. Loki didn't seem at all bothered by the comment,

"Well…THAT'S considering you don't try to lock me up now." He got right in Nick's face, then slightly leaned to one side to look at the crowd behind Nick. He gave a wicked grin, "Go ahead, "Director". Arrest me." He dared. Nick snorted,

"You've been absolved of all crimes. I've got no reason." He said and one could almost _hear_ him grinding his teeth. Loki's grin lengthened,

"That's what I thought." He chuckled and stepped away from Nick. There were now several news crews gathering around, taking pictures and asking bystanders questions. A perky little blond woman looked at the group of heroes and almost ran to them, a plastic white smile on her face, a mike in her hand. She stepped right up to Loki, who was only momentarily surprised before he realized he was on national television and had to keep his appearance up. The tiny blond shoved her microphone in Loki's face,

"Can you tell us what happened here today?" she asked rather loudly. A second later there were several others like her clustered around Loki, all asking questions at once,

"Where have you been hiding all this time?"

"Where did you come from?"

"What's happened to Dr. Doom?"

"Are you still working for him?"

"Does SHIELD have you on their leash?"

"Are you joining our side?"

"Will you be an Avenger now?"

"Who are you really?"

Loki stood rather over whelmed. Steve tried to step in and explain but none of the paparazzi paid any attention to him, they suddenly fell quiet and waited for answers from Loki. He blinked a couple of times, not enjoying any of their close proximity, he made a slight face of disgust and was about to tell them all to get the hell away from him. But then he looked at Tony, who just smiled and winked right back. Loki smiled at the cameras,

"Me?" He gestured to himself, all debonair, "I am Loki Laufeyson, adopted child of Odin, brother to Thor, sorcerer extraordinaire, and God of Mischief. As of this day, you may all count me as an ally, and…" he paused for a brief second as he accepted to himself what he was about to say, "…a hero of Earth. I have sworn to personally end the reign of Victor Von Doom, and I shall not rest till that happens." He looked over at Nick Fury, who was crossing his arms but otherwise displaying no emotion, Loki turned back to the cameras, "I am not an Avenger, nor am I SHIELD's lapdog, but you all may rest soundly knowing I will do all I can to help wherever I am needed." He gave a curt bow, hoping to end this interrogation. A group of children were all watching, inching closer and closer to their superheroes, hoping to get the chance to actually touch one of the heroes. One little boy suddenly pushed his way forward and shouted at Loki,

"Why did you kiss Iron Man?" he was pointing a tiny accusing finger at Loki. The entire crowd of people and cameras turned to gaze at him, awaiting an answer. Loki flushed and he saw Tony face-palm from the corner of his eye. The rest of the Avengers all looked away awkwardly. Spider-Man started whistling into the air.

"Uhh…" Loki's mouth opened and closed like a fish, he had no idea what would be appropriate to saw on TV, or in front of all these children. "Well…" he scratched the back of his neck.

"Are you guys gay?" the same little boy asked.

"WHAT?" Loki squeaked in surprise.

"What did he just…?" Steve wore the same astonished and embarrassed expression. Tony jumped forward, blocking the cameras and pushing Loki along,

"GOSH…kids say the darnedest things these days…" he chuckled nervously, "Well, that's all folks! Tune in next time for another episode of Awkward Moments with the Avengers. Bye bye now!" He continued to push Loki away from the cameras. Nick Fury took over the crowd control and the Avengers made their way out. They all climbed into one of SHIELD's choppers and flew back toward the mansion. Tony started laughing when they were back on their own front lawn. All eyes turned to look at him strangely,

"Sorry…" he giggled, "…but that was funny. Kids certainly aren't stupid these days." He unlocked the front door and they headed in.

"Apparently!" Loki agreed, then threw his hands out, looking flustered, "What was I supposed to say to that?" he wondered aloud. Steve chuckled,

"Not much…" he mumbled. Tony nodded,

"Yeah…let's try to keep that under the covers for now…let the world accept you as their new hero first, then as my boyfriend, huh?" he smiled sheepishly.

"Fair enough." Loki agreed, "Speaking of such…" he looked at Tony from under his eyelashes, green eyes alluring, and stuck his tongue in his cheek. Tony's eyebrows hit his hairline. Loki grinned seductively and leaned into Tony's ear, "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" he whispered. Tony's whole body shivered from the frosted breath against his ear,

"Ohhh…" his eyes rolled back, "Baby, you have no idea." He whispered back. Loki placed a quick kiss to Tony's cheek, then grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the stairs,

"Let's get you out of that armor, hm?" he suggested and Tony could only nod. The bedroom door didn't even close before they were lip locked, panting hotly, and hungry tongues going back and forth. Loki's thin fingers literally ripped the armor plates from Tony's body. Sparkles of magic fluttered around them to assist in removing the rest of Tony's bodysuit and Loki's armor. One of Loki's hands went to Tony's throat and shoved him with bruising force into the nearest wall. Tony winced out loud, but didn't protest, just clutched at Loki's hips.

"No need to hold anything back now…" Loki breathed against Tony's throat, licking the soft skin between sentences, "Hope you don't mind the rougher side of me…" Tony's calloused hands flexed against Loki's hips and he bucked forward, mewling softly. Loki took that as a confirmation and grinned. Loki's hand never left Tony's throat as he licked and sucked down his throat and chest, occasionally stroking Tony's inner thigh with his freehand. He brought himself back up to meet Tony's lips then gently grabbed his waist with his other hand and turned Tony around, pushing him against the wall. Loki slightly tightened his grip on Tony's throat and used his magic to slick his fingers. Tony gasped at the sudden intrusion, but still said nothing. Loki chewed his earlobe as his fingers worked.

"I think I'll show you what I'm made of." His voice of heavy with lust. Tony's eyes opened,

"Wait…what?" he looked at Loki over his shoulder. Loki cocked his head,

"Problem?" he asked, voice still husky, fingers still thrusting softly. Tony's already flushed cheeks seemed to darken a deeper red,

"You're gonna…?" he cleared his throat, embarrassed, "I…uh…I've never actually done it that way…" he confessed quietly, "I'm always the one…giving…ya know?" Loki chuckled and removed his fingers, only to wrap his hand around Tony's cock instead,

"You'll be fine." He whispered and gave Tony a good tug. Tony moaned loudly and closed his eyes again. Loki pulled his hand away from Tony's throat just long enough to push his head into Tony, then he curled his thin, pale fingers around Tony's neck again and bucked his hips roughly forward.

"Ahh! Loki!" Tony actually reached back and slapped Loki, then gave him an angry glare over his shoulder. Loki chuckled in amusement and tightened his grip till he heard Tony's breath hitching slightly. One of Tony's hands came up to lightly pull at Loki's own, as if to loosen Loki's grip around his throat. But with the god's powers restored, Tony had no chance of easing that vice. Loki slowly shook his head as he thrusted into Tony,

"No no." he cooed, "We're playing my way now." His whisper was vicious, almost threatening. A flicker of panic entered Tony's chest; did his homicidal tendencies return with his powers? Tony momentarily wondered if Loki would have the control to not accidently kill Tony. Those thoughts were quickly forgotten as Tony's mind went blank from Loki's thrusts. He whimpered softly as his air supply was slowly cut off, Loki's other hand pumped Tony's cocked harder as his moans and grunts got louder. Tony knew from this that Loki was close. A minute later and Tony was officially suffocating, but he kept his closed and focused on the feeling of Loki's hand pulling on him.

"Ohh!" Loki shuddered, rolling his head back and pulling Tony tightly against him. He moaned again then suddenly released Tony's neck, continuing to pump his other hand. Tony gasped for air, then moaned as he climaxed as well. Without warning, his knees gave out and he slumped into Loki's airs. Loki slowly lowered them to the floor where they proceed to lay on the carpet and pant, limbs still tangled together. Loki was holding Tony to his chest and gently running his long fingers through the short brunette hair. Tony took a deep breath and let his body relax,

"Well…" he started, "That was different." He spoke with closed eyes, looking like he was asleep. Loki chuckled, causing Tony to bob up and down,

"Different good or bad?" Loki asked. Tony gave a half-hearted shrug,

"I haven't decided yet." He turned his eyes up to meet Loki's, "Can't say I've ever nearly suffocated to death during sex." He said. Loki frowned,

"I tried to be gently." He whined defensively. Tony smiled and closed his eyes again, snuggling into the crook of Loki's pale neck,

"Yeah…" he whispered, "But you're a lot stronger now." He yawned.

"Mhmm…" Loki yawned as well, "Are we sleeping on the floor then?"

" 'S a clean floor…" Tony mumbled, mostly asleep already. Loki simply nodded as he drifted off as well.


	15. Chapter 15THE END

SOOO…I think I'm about to end this story…and plan a sequel? We'll see how this goes.

* * *

><p>Life for the heroes went on. Everyone, except for Loki whose opinion wasn't really counted in the matter, decided to take time off to pull themselves together and relax before they plan their next move against Doom. Currently Thor was in Asgard, relaying the news of Loki's adventures and triumphs upon Earth, hoping to bring a new light upon Loki's reputation. Steve found himself cleaning house, despite what the others thought, Steve greatly enjoyed cleaning. Tony had put any upgrades and projects on hold for the remainder of their "relaxing period", but wasn't finding himself relaxed at all. Instead, he was rather stressed as he tried in vain to force Loki to have some fun. Both men were in the living room, Tony sat upon the couch flipping through TV channels while Loki stood defiantly with his arms crossed over his chest. He tapped his foot impatiently,<p>

"I just don't understand why we're wasting time." He snapped at Tony. Tony let out a long sigh then looked up at Loki,

"For the hundredth time…we are not "wasting" time. We are recuperating. Relaxing. Trying to enjoy the short lives that we have. It's something everybody needs. Stress'll kill you." He explained with all the patience he could muster.

"No, it's something **humans** need. Not I." Loki retorted, "How am to relax? How can any of you relax?" he threw his arms out in frustration. Tony stood up and lightly gripped Loki's slim wrists,

"Because we _have_ to, Loki. You can't keep working like this. You can't focus, or think right. How can we be at our best if we are exhausted _and_ freaking out?" Loki's shoulders dropped as he calmed down a bit, he nodded, and then rubbed his forehead with one hand.

"Yes. Alright. I understand." He said. Tony smiled,

"Good! Then sit down and watch some TV, will ya?" Tony jumped back unto the couch and patted the seat next to him. Loki sighed and sat down. Twenty minutes of Comedy Central passed, Tony laughing through tears the entire time, clutching his sides and gasping for air. Loki rolled his eyes and started staring off at the ceiling, not amused. No matter what was put in front of him as a distraction he couldn't get Doom off his mind. His thoughts raced through all the known locations of Doom's lairs, bases, and castles; where could he be? How would they find him and get to him before he ran to another hiding place? How many duplicates could he have? Was there a way to disable the duplicates and single the real Victor out? He was so lost in his world of plotting and possible strategies that Tony had to slap his arm to get his attention back. Loki jumped and looked at Tony with wide eyes,

"Oh! Sorry. I wasn't listening." He defended. Tony quirked an eyebrow,

"Obviously. I've been talking to you for like ten minutes." His tone was heavily annoyed. Loki put on his best apologetic face,

"I'm sorry. What did you say? I'll listen this time." He gave a sheepish grin.

"The television doesn't interest you at all, does it?" Tony wondered and Loki shook his head,

"No, not really. It's not that funny." He confessed.

"I think you just don't get the jokes." Tony explained. Loki gave him a look,

"I _understand_ them just fine. I just don't think they're funny." He countered. Tony looked appalled,

"You have no sense of humor!" Loki chuckled,

"Oh I disagree! It's just that, what I find funny usually disgusts others." He laughed.

"Oh yeah! I forgot, your favorite comedy movie is SAW." Tony shivered at the thought, "Those movies are horrid…" he mumbled as an afterthought. Loki was still chuckling,

"But so good!" he exclaimed.

"You're sick." Tony was shaking his head, "I can't sit through movies like that." Loki shrugged,

"Your loss." Tony turned the TV off and turned to face Loki, pulling his legs up and folding them under himself,

"So…what would you find interesting? What's something you want to do? For entertainment?" he asked, "We need to find something to distract you." Loki's eyes went to the ceiling as he placed his fingers upon his lips and pondered. Tony watched Loki's elegant fingers as they slowly, absently stroked the length of Loki's thin lips. He suddenly reached out and pulled Loki's hand away from his face. Loki flinched and looked at him in surprised confusion.

"Why do you do that?" Tony asked him, "I constantly see you doing that, like a weird habit or something." Loki's brow scrunched up in further confusion,

"Doing what?" he asked defensively. Tony began to mimic the movements Loki was doing seconds ago,

"Rubbing your lips." He said while demonstrating. Loki's fingers went to his lips instinctively,

"Oh!" he said in understanding. He debating on whether he wanted to tell Tony the whole truth or only the parts that would answer his question, it wasn't a memory he was fond of remembering, let alone talking about. He sighed and melancholy colored his face.

"It's…" he looked down at the floor, not wanting to see Tony's eyes staring at him, "After I had my lips sewn…I…had these awful scars…" his fingers were rubbing his lips again, as he spoke, "I could always feel them…" he whispered, "And saw people staring at them…" he shook his head, "So ugly!" he spat out in a harsh whisper, "Always so ugly." He pulled his hand from his lips to cover his eyes. Tony scooted closer and took Loki's hands,

"Don't be silly." He cooed, "There's not a single damn thing ugly about you." He promised and kissed Loki tenderly. Loki smiled,

"Yes, well, that's according to a species of imperfect beings." He countered, Tony gave him a playful slap.

"Shut up." He chuckled, but then paused, "So, what happened to them? The scars, I mean, they healed?" he wondered. An awful sorrow came to Loki's eyes as he shook his head,

"No…" he looked away again, "I…hide…them, with my glamour, my magic. I hide all my scars under magic. That's why you could see them when I was mortal, but now you can't." Tony's eyebrows went up as he did indeed remember seeing thin white scars dashed across Loki's lips. In fact, Loki had had lots of scars littering his pale body.

"Oh wow." Tony said at this realization, "Huh…I never even noticed them…" he confessed with a shrug. Loki rolled his eyes again. Tony hopped off the couch and extended a hand to Loki, "C'mon. I think we need to get you out for a bit. I'm actually having a fundraiser tonight, we should go. It'll be fun!" Loki looked skeptical,

"A fundraiser?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just an excuse for a bunch of rich adults to have a party and blow money." He laughed and gently grabbed Loki's hand, attempting to pull him off the couch, "Come on." He encouraged, "It could be the perfect place to introduce you as my man." He winked.

"Hmm. I thought you wanted to keep that a secret. It's only been a month since that whole kissing in front of all Manhattan incident." He rebelliously remained sitting on the couch despite Tony's tugging.

"Yeah…well…" Tony shrugged, "I changed my mind. I want people to know that I have the most powerful and beautiful man in the universe as my boyfriend." He grinned hopefully. Loki snorted, but got off the couch,

"Flatterer." He said, but was smiling, "So when is this "fundraiser"?" he asked, making quote marks in the air with his fingers. Tony glanced at the TV's digital clock,

"It starts in like an hour." He answered.

"An hour! How am I to be ready in an hour?" Loki whined. Tony laughed,

"Well I wasn't gonna go, but then I changed my mind. And don't give me that crap! You can snap your fingers and be ready to go!" he said, "Me on the other hand, I need a shower." He headed for the stairs.

"What am I to wear?" Loki called after him. Tony waved a hand,

"Whatever you want! Be sexy!" he responded. An hour and a half later Loki stood by the front door; dressed in his favorite pair of textured leather pants, a forest green shirt with full sleeves and gold accents, a grey scarf tossed around his slim shoulders, and expensive combat boots upon his feet, wondering what the hell Tony was doing. He sighed loudly and leaned against the wall. Tony finally came down the stairs, cellphone to his ear, car keys in hand,

"No, Pepper! I don't expect you to come! You don't have to! I was just letting you know…Yeah yeah, I never think before I act…I'm not gonna make a scene! I'm just taking Loki…WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" He paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking incredulous, "UGH! Whatever! Ok. Bye." He hung the phone up and roughly shoved it into his pocket, then grinned at Loki. Tony was wearing blue jeans, his favorite Nikes, a Jack Daniel's tee (big surprise), and his leather jacket. He twirled his car keys as he stepped over to Loki,

"Let's get outta here." He said and threw the front door open.

"You're late." Loki commented.

"Nah! Celebs always show up whenever they feel like it."

"So, nobody knows we're going to be there?" Loki asked as they climbed into Tony's Hot Rod,

"Pretty much. But it's my damned fundraiser, I'll show up if I want to." He threw on his orange tinted sunglasses, gave Loki a wink, started the car and cranked up the radio, Tool was playing. They pulled up to the curb of a grand building, crowds of fans gathered behind ropes while cameras flashed non-stop, and paparazzi shouted above each other. The two stepped out of the expensive car unto the red carpet. Tony was waving and winking to the crowds, he absently handed his keys to the valet boy before stepping over to sign some autographs. Loki crossed his arms and stood impatiently. Several camera crews appeared around him, microphones were shoved in his face, and he was assaulted by a million questions. Only one caught his ear:

"Have you come here tonight as Mr. Stark's date?"

Loki turned to look at the woman who had asked, then he glanced over his shoulder at Tony who had his back to Loki while he continued to play his celebrity role. Loki snorted,

"That's debatable." He responded finally, looking thoroughly annoyed. The same bubbly brunette stepped closer to him,

"Can you tell us why Mr. Stark has decided to make an appearance?" she continued. Loki gestured to Tony,

"Is it not obvious? He came for the attention, of course. And the alcohol, I'm sure." He still held a heavy tone of annoyed boredom. A man stepped forward now,

"Does this mean he's coming out of the closet? Or does he just bring you along for the attention as well?" he asked. Loki's expression changed like he'd just been slapped in the face with a cold, dead fish. Doubt suddenly washed over him and he looked back over to Tony. Is that what I am? he wondered, a means for attention? His face fell and his shoulders slumped. He roughly shoved the paparazzi out of the way and stormed off down the street. Some of the women Tony was standing with started pointing at Loki's retreating figure,

"Your boyfriend's leaving!" one said. Tony whip-lashed around,

"What?" sure enough he saw Loki storming off, "What the-? Where's he going?" he ran after Loki, not caring at all for the cameras that followed.

"**LOKI!** LOKI, WAIT! **STOP!**" he finally caught up to the taller man, but had to pause before continuing. He bent over, placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Loki played the stoic, waiting for Tony to finish. Tony finally straightened up and gasped a few more times before speaking,

"Where are you going?" he asked, voice still out of breath.

"Home." Loki snapped back. Tony looked hurt and confused,

"Why? We just got here!"

"I don't want to be _here_ anymore. I changed my mind." He crossed his arms and took a more aggressive stance. Tony gaped at him for a minute,

"Why?" he asked again. Loki huffed and stomped his foot,

"Because I have no desire to be your pet! You can't just _bring me along_ like a new fucking car and show me off, Anthony! I won't tolerate it!" he cut the air with his hand in a very angry gesture, **"I am not your shiny new toy to wave around for attention!" **he thrusted a black painted fingernail into Tony's chest. Tony was taken aback, he threw his arms out,

"WHAT? Babe, what are you _talking_ about?" he squeaked defensively. Loki scoffed,

"Oh please!" he turned on his heel and started walking away again. Tony grabbed his wrist to stop him but Loki's newly returned strength was no match for Tony, so Tony ended up being dragged by the retreating god. Still, Tony pulled as much as he could,

"Wait! Wait! Seriously! I don't understand! Why would you think that?" he gave up pulling and ran around to face Loki, he planted his hands on Loki's chest and started pushing against him, "Please! Can we just talk about this for a second!" he begged. Loki halted and the sudden stop sent Tony barreling into Loki's chest with a grunt. Tony recuperated and stood up straight.

"Where are you getting these thoughts from? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Tony continued to talk, "I brought you here because I wanted to introduce you as my boyfriend. Not my new car!" he waved his hands incredulously, "I don't pretend to_ own_ you, Loki. That's not a relationship! You're my companion! My best friend! My lover! That's what I want! I would never belittle you by acting like I own you, like you're just a pretty face that keeps me company! You're my whole world! And…and I wanted to show that to everyone. I wanted to show them how much you mean to me." He paused to take a deep breath, "And…wow…and now I'm kinda seriously heartbroken…" he looked at Loki with honest hurt all over his face, "How could you doubt me like this? Are you really so easily swayed?" Loki's eyes fell to the ground as his face scrunched up in confusion. He was silent for a while, eyes flickering around angrily as he thought over Tony's words. He suddenly sighed and placed a hand upon his forehead, looking distraught. He shook his head remorsefully,

"I…ugh…you're right. I don't know what I was thinking." He slightly slapped himself, "I'm so stupid!" he looked at Tony, giving him the most pitiful face of regret, utilizing the full power of his puppy dog green eyes, "I'm so sorry. I think I just got overwhelmed. I'm not used to all these people…I'm not like you! I don't enjoy this attention, these cameras, and shouting people!" Tony smiled and gripped his shoulders,

"Hey…it's alright. It's ok. I can understand that." He gave Loki a hug, "Maybe we should have rehearsed this sort of thing." He teased. Loki laughed,

"Maybe…" they both turned to walk back to the party, only to find the entire news cast that was supposed to be covering the fundraiser event watching them. They glanced at each other then back at the cameras. Tony slowly raised a finger to point at them,

"Uhh…how long have you guys been standing there?" he asked. One of the women laughed,

"Oh long enough." She answered in a very snarky tone. Loki face palmed. Tony laughed,

"WELL! I guess I don't have to give a big introductory speech about you now! Hahaha!" he slapped Loki's rear and started walking, "C'mon!" Loki looked appalled, his face flushed red with embarrassment. He ducked his head and rushed past the cameras to follow Tony into the building.

"Tony! Everyone is staring at us!" he squeaked in a low whisper. Tony chuckled,

"So smile and wave back." He said. Tony was nodding, winking, and waving to people as they walked up to the bar. Loki pulled up a drink menu and pretended to be immersed in it. The bartender greeted Tony then pointed at Loki while mouthing the words "Is he OK?". Tony chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah. Just gimme two of the usual." Tony told the man. The bartender nodded happily and turned to make the drinks.

"Are you out of your _FUCKING_ mind?" Loki and Tony both whirled around at the angry voice of one Virginia Potts. She stood looking very distraught, hair slightly ruffled, left foot tapping angrily upon the tile floor. There was a man standing next to her, one that Loki hadn't met before. He was a dark skinned man, like Nick Fury, but he wore the green cameo of a military man and he was looking equally furious and annoyed at Tony.

"Whaaat?" Tony tossed his hands up as if to say it's no big deal. The dark skinned man started waving his hand angrily,

"Tony, do you realize that your little reality drama show was all over the television?" he said. Pepper stomped her foot,

"You told me you weren't gonna make a scene!" She threw her hands up and began pacing in small circles, "Why did I believe you! You're fucking Tony Stark, you don't have to _make_ a scene, a scene fucking _FOLLOWS_ you around. Everywhere you go…!" she looked like she was about to break down hysterically. Tony was thanking the bartender, then he smiled at Loki and handed him a glass of rum in Coke. He finally turned back to his angry friends,

"Look. You guys need to chill. I came here to tell everyone about Loki anyways, so it's no biggie." He waved it off, "Pepper, breathe. And Rhodey, have a drink. Relax. You guys are like the parents I never had." Loki laughed at that. Pepper dug her fingernails into her hairline for a minute before she sighed and slumped into a bar seat,

"Ya know what? Forget it. I don't know why I do this to myself. You're never gonna change and you don't care." She said, Tony was nodding and he raised his glass to her,

"There you go." He agreed. Pepper looked at him like she could choke the life from him.

"Order me a drink." She barked, "A strong one." Tony just nodded and said something to the bartender. The other man, Rhodey, sat down on the other side of Pepper. He had rings around his eyes and his whole face seemed to slump from exhaustion. Tony turned to him,

"You want something?" he asked. Rhodey let out a long sigh and shook his head,

"No. I'm not staying. Pepper wanted me to back her up, that's the only reason I came on such short notice. I need sleep." He stood up and gave Loki a slight bow, "Sorry to run out like this. Maybe we can chat some other time." Loki nodded in reply. Rhodey gave Tony one last look, as if daring him to make any more trouble, then turned and headed for the door. Pepper received her beverage and thanked the bartender. She took a long drink then let out a sigh and turned to Loki. She tried to put on a sweet smile,

"It's good to see you well. I just want to let you know that I don't blame you for anything. I blame Tony. Because he is a human hurricane on wheels and should be locked away, but you didn't hear that from me." She said and took another drink.

"Uhm! I'm right here!" Tony called from behind Loki, but he was ignored.

"I understand. But it really was my fault to begin with." Loki explained, "I had gotten upset for no reason and started yelling at him in front of all those people. He was only trying to calm me down."

"Oh. What were you yelling at him for?" Pepper wondered curiously. Loki blushed a little,

"It was…just a stupid mistake. I'm sure you'll see the whole thing on the TV later anyways." He grumbled. Pepper scoffed and shook her head,

"Yeah, no doubt. This is gonna be the biggest news story of the year." She waved her hand in the air, as if gesturing to some grand display, "World's worst super genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist…turned GAY and dating an ex-super villain! What will Tony Stark do next?" she said, mimicking the voice of a news anchorwoman. She laughed without humor and shrugged at Loki. She did a double-take as she saw a pitiful look of regret and sorrow on Loki's face as he stared into his glass. She gasped and put her hands on his arm,

"OH! No, Loki! I didn't mean it like that!" she suddenly hugged him, "Oh, I'm sorry. That sounded terrible!" she took his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes, "There is nothing wrong with Tony dating you. And I'm so glad you're not a villain anymore!" she beamed at him, "I just wished that Tony had gone about this differently. But I'm sure you know as well as I do that that stupid man does not think before he acts, or speaks." She leaned back in her seat, huffing, "He's…just so frustrating!" Loki was nodding,

"Oh I agree." He chuckled. Then something dawned on him and he glanced at Tony, then back at Pepper. He noticed the awkward atmosphere between the two and gasped out loud,

"Oh my stars!" he said and both looked at him in surprised, "OH! NO!" he made a face of disgust.

"What?" Tony and Pepper said in unison.

"You guys have history! You've had sex!" he sounded like he might cry, "Anthony!" he turned an accusing gaze to Tony, "You never told me that you've slept with her! I thought she was just your long time personal assistant. Apparently TOO PERSONAL!" he snapped. Tony looked like he'd been slapped and Pepper looked like she might vomit all over the floor. She threw her hands up,

"Woah there! Hold on!" she waited till Loki was looking at her, "Yes. We dated. A while ago. And it like, only lasted a month. Relax, it will never happen again, not even if he was the _last_ penis on earth." Loki couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud at that. Tony gave them both a look of offended fury,

"Oh yeah! Well, that's not what you said when we…"

"Shut up, Tony!" Loki and Pepper said at the same time, then started laughing again.

"Alright. I believe you Pepper." Loki spoke through bouts of chuckling, "I'll let it go."

"I think me and you are gonna get along just fine." Pepper was saying, "Now that we've both had the experience of dating, living with, and sleeping with the ever famous Tony Stark."

"I hate both of you." Tony mumbled.

"No you don't." Loki and Pepper spoke in unison again, they just grinned at each other and giggled.

"Oh!" Pepper turned her head to the dance floor, "I love this song! Now I wish Rhodey hadn't left…I could have danced with him." She made a pout. Loki got off his chair and held out his hand to her,

"I don't know the song, but I can certainly dance." He offered. Pepper giggled but Tony looked incredulous,

"You're supposed to dance with me!" he said pointing to himself. Loki smiled at him,

"You'd probably step all over my feet." He teased then turned back to Pepper, "Shall we, Lady Pepper?" She pretended to swoon,

"Remind me to go to Asgard to find my future husband." She said as she took his hand and they walked to the dance floor.

"Psh! Good luck! All Asgardian men are _GAAAYY_!" Tony shouted after them like a child then turned his back to the dance floor and angrily sipped his drink. The bartender came over to refill his glass,

"Problem there, Mr. Stark?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Tony grumbled, "My ex-girlfriend just ran off with my boyfriend." The bartender nodded sympathetically,

"I hate it when that happens." He sighed and left to serve other people. Tony gave the bartender a look.

* * *

><p>Steve was sitting in Thor's lap upon the couch, a book in one hand a cup of tea in the other, comfortably leaning into the larger man's chest. Thor was flipping through TV channels, not finding anything interesting. He stopped when he thought he saw Loki. He squinted with interest at the News station. His eyes grew wide as he watched Loki yelling at Tony. He turned up the volume.<p>

"_**I am not your shiny new toy to wave around for attention!" **__Loki was yelling and pointing angrily at Tony._

"_WHAT? Babe, what are you talking about?" Tony replied in a shrill, panicked voice. _

Steve slowly looked up from his book. Both men watched this in confusion. It was like a horror movie, even though you had no idea what was going on, you couldn't look away. The video panned out from view and a news anchorwoman took its place,

"And shortly after this lover's quarrel, Mr. Stark openly confessed that the **ex-**super villain Loki is indeed his boyfriend." Her voice made it obvious that she was trying not to laugh while speaking, "So when did the world's biggest womanizer start chasing after male villains?" Steve choked on his tea and spit it everywhere. "And is his so-called _**love**_ what actually changed the wicked God of Mischief? Or is this just a time bomb ticking away?" the woman was cut off by Thor, who had turned the television off. Steve was drying off his chin with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Why are they on the television? I thought they were home." Thor said, sounding more confused than he looked.

"Apparently not." Steve answered and shook his head, "We are never going to hear the end of this." He rubbed his temples then looked up at the ceiling as if someone was there, "Why? Why Tony? Why must you always make a scene everywhere you go? Why do you have to make our lives more difficult?" he spoke out loud. Thor looked at him with worry,

"Steven, you are speaking to the ceiling." He explained. Steve laughed then tossed his book and tea cup unto the floor to turn around and face Thor.

"Yeah, I know." He smiled and started ruffling Thor's hair. Thor pouted his lips and wiggled his eyebrows. Steve giggled and kissed him, wrapping his arms around Thor's neck. Steve pulled back to look at Thor,

"Soo…I guess we'll tell everyone when Tony and Loki get home?" he asked. Thor's face was soft and his eyes shined with pure joy,

"We can tell them whenever you are ready to. There is no hurry." He said. Steve blushed,

"I know, but it is pretty exciting and all. I think I'd like to tell sooner rather than later." He explained. Thor nodded,

"Then we shall." He kissed Steve more passionately, moving to put Steve upon the couch and lie over him.

* * *

><p>Loki ended up drinking more than he'd intended to. But after Tony and Loki had moved over to the lounge area, a group of supermodels had come to join them. And if there was anything that was a weakness for both men, it was supermodels, foreign supermodels. The girls were all cheerful and flirtatious and they continued to hand more alcohol to both men. They danced, they drank, and Loki got yelled at for standing on a dining table while screaming "Kneel bitches!" at all the patrons. But then the fun was over, the models left, and Tony got kicked out so Loki went with him. They got home and stumbled into the living room, giggling like teenaged girls.<p>

"Ya know…" Tony said, "I actually kinda miss sleeping with women." Loki tried to look offended, but there was no heart behind it. "Not that sleeping with you isn't fucking amazing! Cause it is. But there's just something about women, ya know? There so dainty and soft and pretty. Like flowers!" he slurred. Loki laughed,

"You'd fuck a flower?" he giggled. Tony punched his arm,

"No! You know what I mean!" he said. They slumped unto the couch. Loki sighed,

"Well…" he started in a soft, husky voice, "Now that I have my powers back…I don't_ have_ to be a man." Tony scrunched up his brow and pursed his lips in a show of interested confusion. Loki grinned and licked his lips then he gently placed his hands over Tony's eyes and when he pulled them away Tony's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. In place of where Loki had been sitting was a woman. Same pale skin, black hair, and green eyes, only now her hair fell in bouncy ringlets to her waist and thick dark eyelashes framed her big, bright eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip, which was a sultry red. She also had nothing but dark green underwear on, so Tony got a wonderful view of two voluptuous breasts and deliciously curved hips. Tony was pretty sure there was drool running down his chin.

"Well?" Loki asked, "Satisfied?" he wondered.

"Not yet, baby, but I will be!" Tony said and pounced Loki into the couch. Loki giggled as Tony kissed her neck hungrily. Tony almost ripped his clothes to pieces as he tried to remove them quickly. Loki laid there and watched him strip. Tony leaned over Loki and reached behind her to unhook the emerald green bra. Loki put her arms up and let Tony pull it off and toss it to the floor. Tony lowered himself unto his knees, gripping one breast in each hand as he went down and started sucking the left one. Loki just gasped. Tony's hands gently kneaded the soft flesh as his mouth and tongue worked each nipple. He looked up to see Loki's flushed cheeks and he smiled. He trailed kisses down her flat belly, licked around her belly button, then continued to her thighs. He tenderly kissed and nipped the flesh with his teeth, then stroked Loki's thighs and gently pulled her panties off. He settled himself between her legs, placing his hands, fingers splayed, on either side of her moist opening. He looked up at Loki, and she smiled back, giving him a slight nod. He winked at her then leaned down to start licking every inch of her. He lapped at the warm flesh, listening to Loki's little moans of pleasure, and intermittently stuck his tongue inside her. He felt a tug at his head and realized with surprise that Loki was gripping a handful of his brown hair. He grinned and continued. Finally Loki yanked him off, panting loudly, lids heavy. Tony laughed and gave Loki a moment to recompose herself. Tony ran the back of his hand across his chin. Loki let out a breath then motioned for Tony to come closer. Tony laid over her and softly kissed her. She moaned and bucked her hips up into him. He laughed again,

"Not much of a lady, are you?" he teased then winced out loud as Loki dug her fingernails into Tony's shoulders, "Bitch!" he pinched one of her nipples hard.

"Ow!" she squealed and slapped him in the face. He just laughed.

"This is gonna be a fun night." He moaned into her neck and started biting her. She started rolling her hips into him again. Tony finally reached down between them, Loki wrapped her legs around his waist, and he pushed himself in her. She let out a loud breath, tilting her head back. Tony grabbed her hands and put them over her head, pinning her wrists in one of his hands, then he started bucking roughly into her.

"Aahh!" she tightened her legs around him, arching her back, "Tony!" she breathed out and Tony growled in response. Tony let go of her hands to grip her face and kiss her, she moaned into it, tangling her elegant fingers into his hair and holding him there. Tony's hips didn't falter and Loki continued to moan in the sweetest voice Tony had ever heard,

"Oh!" she panted, "So close…" Tony took that as encouragement and didn't relent at all, but knew he was dangerous close as well. Finally he felt her shudder and she tossed her head back, "Ahh! Ahh! Yes!" she ran her fingernails down his sides, "Tony!" And he couldn't hold on any further, he arched into her and moaned loudly. Then they both went limp and just laid there panting. Loki returned to his natural gender, too exhausted to keep the shape.

"Well…" Tony spoke, still out of breath, "And I didn't think fucking you could get any better." He snickered, Loki slapped him half-heartedly but was smiling.

"Oh my god! You sluts just can't keep it in your room, can you?" Hawkeye stood by the kitchen door with a huge grin on his face. Tony laughed,

"Hey ya know how it is." He said as he tried to sit up. Clint nodded,

"Yeah, that's ok, I caught Steve and Thor doing it in that exact same spot earlier today."

"EW!" Loki hollered and jumped up off the couch. Tony laughed at him. Clint started pointing his thumb in the direction of the kitchen,

"Ya might wanna throw your clothes on. Thor told everyone to come in here. He apparently has a big announcement." He told them. Tony scrambled to pull his clothes back on while Loki simply snapped a finger and was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Thor and Steve came into the room just as Tony was pulling his shirt on. Thor stepped over and hugged Loki,

"When did you get back?" Loki asked. Thor shrugged,

"Sometime right before you and Tony ended up on the news." He answered. Loki pursed his lips and made a face like he had no idea what Thor was talking about. Thor shook his head and gestured to the couch,

"Please. Everyone sit down. Steve and I have an announcement." He said.

"Oh boy…" Tony commented, "This can't be good." Steve swatted him in the head. Thor stood in the center of the living room while everyone sat on or in front of the couch. Steve was standing a little to Thor's right. Thor addressed Loki first,

"I did my best to speak well of you, and Mother was very excited to hear that you have joined with me and no longer against me. She told me to tell you that she is very proud and she loves you." He smiled. Loki blushed a little, and nodded. Then Thor sighed, "But I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that Father…has no intention of forgiving you…for anything. He says you're deeds upon Earth mean nothing to him." Thor frowned, "I am sorry, Brother." Loki shrugged, but there was honest hurt in his eyes,

"Like you said…no surprise to me." He said with no emotion. Thor nodded and said no more of it.

"And, I spoke to Mother and Father about Steven…" he paused to look at Steve who was blushing but he nodded encouragingly. Thor took a deep breathe, "They have both given me their blessings and permission to…uhm…well…" he cleared his throat, but Steve jumped forward. Bouncing with excitement he kissed Thor's cheek,

"Thor asked me to marry him!" he said in a rush and Thor beamed at him.

"Whaaat?" Tony squawked. Loki stepped forward,

"You _**do**_ understand what that means, right?" He asked Steve. Steve nodded,

"Yes. Thor explained everything. I know technically I'll be the second king of Asgard, but only through marriage, so I won't have any direct power unless appointed to me by Thor and approved by Odin. And if by some horrible event Thor dies, then the throne goes back to Odin or you because I'm neither a citizen of Asgard nor a member of the royal family." Steve finished in a rush, "But I don't have any interest in ruling an entire planet… Just marrying the man I love is good enough for me." He blushed.

"Weeeellll…." Loki chirped in, "**IF** something should ever happen to Thor you're more than welcome to hand Asgard over to me." He grinned. Thor glared at him,

"Stop it." He commanded, "You only _wish_ something would happen to me." He rolled his eyes. Loki made a face of being offended,

"I never! Valhalla forbid it!" he put his hand to his heart. Thor snorted,

"Shut up." He playfully poked Loki in the arm. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce were all hugging Steve excitedly, already going on about the wedding. Loki gently pulled Thor away and gave him a wary look,

"Are you sure about this, Brother? Is this what you want? Will you be happy?" he asked in a low voice, keeping his gaze steady with Thor's. Thor nodded and smiled,

"Yes." He said without hesitation, answering all of Loki's questions with more than just one word, for the light in his eyes spoke volumes. Loki couldn't help but grin, excitement washing over him and he hugged Thor tightly,

"Then I am with you all the way!" he said. Thor had to fight his tears of joy,

"Thank you." He whispered, then recomposed himself and looked Loki in the face, "I was hoping you'd be my best man." He confessed. Loki gasped and waved his hands like a teenaged girl who'd just been given a new pair of shoes,

"Of course! I'd love to." He said, "Just don't get mad if I look more fabulous than you at your wedding." He teased and Thor playfully shook his fist at Loki. Steve was standing by them,

"Everything ok?" he asked glancing between the brothers. Thor nodded and Loki threw his arms around Steve, Steve blushed even more.

"I wish you good luck living with him!" Loki said and started cackling loudly. Steve gave him a look, "Oh I'm kidding. I'm very happy for you both. At least he's not marry some slut that I hate." He shrugged.

"So should get on the news again and make a big scene about Captain America being gay and marrying the Prince of Asgard?" Tony asked.

"_**NO!**_" came the chorus of everyone in the room. Tony threw his hands up,

"It was a joke! _GEEZ!_" he defended.

"So do you guys know what you're going to wear at you wedding?" Natasha asked. Both blond men nodded.

"My royal armor, of course." Thor answered.

"My military uniform. It's traditional. At least it was…" Steve said,

"Back in the day! Yeah yeah, Steve, we know." Tony finished his sentence. Everyone laughed, except Steve who pouted and looked rather put out.

* * *

><p>A few months passed as the wedding was planned, Tony sorted out the business of his new relationship in the public eye, and Loki continued to play the Good Samaritan…as good as he could manage at least. There were no major crimes and still no sign of Doom, everyone assumed he'd gone into hiding to lick his wounds from Loki's previous assault. The backyard of the Avengers mansion had been renovated to fit the large crowd of Asgardians that would be coming, and any other guests Steve would invite. Loki had been put in charge of the catering, cuisine, and the cake and he took that job very seriously. He'd already sent several professional chefs home crying, men and women alike. He was pulling his hair out in chunks. Tony laughed from the dinner table.<p>

"Relax, babe. It's just food. We're only gonna eat it." He commented. Loki turned his full death glare upon Tony,

"You have no class! So just shut up!" he snapped. Tony looked really worried. Loki's hand suddenly dropped to his stomach,

"Ugh. This stress is making me sick. I've been puking all day." He sipped at a glass of water. Tony came over to rub his slim shoulders,

"See? I told you ya gotta relax. Take a breather." He spoke quietly, so as not to agitate the god any further.

"But I'm running out of time!" Loki whined.

"And if you kill yourself in the process, this will all be in vain." Tony countered. Loki groaned,

"Alright. I'm gonna take a nap, ok?" he rubbed his temples. Tony nodded,

"That's a great idea. I'll see you later." He said. Loki absently waved a hand and left the room.

* * *

><p>Steve stood in the backyard instructing his hired help on how to put the final touches to everything.<p>

"No no! That goes over there!" he shouted at two men and pointed to where he wanted them to go. He sighed, both in frustration and relief; relief that the day was finally here, but frustration at the crowd of paparazzi and bystanders that had gathered around the mansion's walls. Cameras had been flashing all day. A brighter flash of light came from behind him, followed by the strange sound that a trans-realm portal made. He turned to see King Odin, his wife Frigga, and Lady Sif and Warrior's Three. Frigga beamed at him and came rushing over just like one would expect a mother to do. She threw her arms around Steve and nearly crushed the air from his lungs,

"Oh! I am so happy! 'Tis a day all mother's pray to see!" she cheered. Steve smiled sweetly,

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm very happy you guys came." He said.

"Of course we would come! Thor wanted this ceremony upon Earth and so _here_ we are." she turned to look at the alter set up, "Have you organized all this yourself, Steven? It's beautiful!" she stepped over to inspect the floral arrangements.

"Thank you, ma'am." Steve said again. Frigga frowned all the sudden as she pulled a flower from one of the arrangements. She turned to show it to Steve,

"Steven, is this holly?" she asked.

"Yes, yes it is." He answered. She shook her head,

"Oh sweetheart, Thor is allergic to holly." She told him. All the color drained from Steve's face. Frigga saw this and put her hand up, "It's alright! Let me handle it! You need to relax, and go change, if I am correct." She smiled. Steve took a deep breath,

"I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about someone being allergic to the flowers, least of all Thor." He explained, she nodded and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly,

"Thor probably doesn't even remember that he's allergic, darling. Don't worry about it, I've got it. Go get changed." She gently pushed him toward the house and slapped his rear. He blushed a bright red but did as he was told.

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><p>Loki knew he was the last one to be ready and everyone was waiting for him, but there was something he had to check. He went into Bruce's medical lab and searched the cabins till he found what he was looking for. He only had his dress pants on, but his shirt and jacket were laid over his shoulder. He put his arm upon the counter and flexed, then stuck a needle into the largest vein and watched his blood fill the little tube attached to the needle. The wound healed as soon as he pulled the needle out and he quickly pulled his shirt on. He placed a little plastic device unto the counter top then dripped three drops of his blood unto it. He wasn't sure if the device would work with his blood, since it was designed for humans, but he figured the hormones would be the same. He absently fastened the buttons of his dress jacket as he stared at the device, waiting for a reaction. After what seemed like long enough, he let out a breathe he hadn't realized he'd been holding. But then, almost as if it was laughing at him, the pale yellow palette turned a dark indigo, answering his question with a positive.<p>

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath and crushed the little plastic device then tossed it into the nearest garbage. Of course there was a possibility that it was wrong…but that was very unlikely. He smoothed his hair as he stepped out the door and down the stairs to join the others. Tony was of course the first to smile at him.

"Come on!" he waved excitedly, "The party don't start without the best man!" Clint pretended to wipe tears from his eyes while sniffling,

"Our Steven's all grown up." He squeaked and the others laughed. Bruce held the backdoor open as they all stepped out. Loki was surprised to see how many Asgardians had turned up. He flinched when he saw Odin look his way and instinctively ducked behind Tony, covering his face with his hand. Tony caught this and put his arm around Loki's waist,

"Hey, fuck that guy, ok? Don't let him ruin this day for you. For Thor." He kissed Loki's cheek, "Now get over there!" he slapped Loki's ass and Loki laughed, then hurried over to his appointed place to wait for the ceremony to begin. Thor was standing in front of the alter and Loki was momentarily taken away by how beautiful and powerful his brother looked, like a true king, but then he saw how Thor was nervously chewing his lip to pieces. Loki chuckled and slithered over to Thor's side.

"Breathe, Brother." He cooed. Thor grinned at him and looked him up and down,

"You did not wear your armor?" he asked. Loki shook his head,

"I didn't want to steal your thunder." He joked and Thor laughed, his whole frame shaking.

"Well, you are beautiful regardless." Thor told him.

"Thank you, but this is not _my_ day to be beautiful." He gave Thor's shoulder a squeeze. Odin stood where the priest would be, if they had one, but Thor and Steve had both agreed to let the All-Father lead the ceremony. And the brothers chatter was silenced when Steven finally stepped outside, with Frigga by his side. Loki chuckled to see his adopted mother wiping tears from her face as she lead Steve up to where Odin stood waiting. Loki turned upon hearing more sniffling and saw that Clint was _actually _crying. Loki bit his lip to stifle his laughter. Of course Clint wasn't the only Avenger to cry manly tears that day. When Odin had finally finished his speech and pronounced his son married, Steve bursted into tears, like a hose that had been pinched closed and was suddenly released, and he threw himself on Thor. Then Tony elected himself the wedding DJ and started loud music while the chairs were moved to make a dance floor. Loki watched his brother and felt honestly proud, and more than joyful to know that Thor was happy. Then Loki looked at Tony and all he felt was worry, he thought about the little test he'd done before the wedding and wondered how he would tell Tony and what would Tony say. He had to shake those thoughts away, for this wasn't his day to brood and worry, or ruin the joyful atmosphere. He knew he would have his day, sooner than he liked.

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><p>AND THAT'S IT! Or is it? xD<p>

Well, that's it for this story at least. Reviews please! Let me know what you think!


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